Modica’s chocolate Modica’s Chocolate has ancient origins and has its roots in what it is defined as : “the people of the fifth sun”, the Aztecs, who used to rule in central and south America from the 13th to the 16th centuries. In the great and marvelous cultures and traditions of this extraordinary people of ancient Mexico, cocoa occupied an important role: it was considered a nutritious food, financial support, but also a symbol of high social position. Also used for its benefits and healing properties, cocoa has a mystical meaning and was considered a vehicle for communicating with divinities. Aztecs used cocoa beans to make a drink called xocoatl, which they flavoured with spices and local herbs. The intervention of another people was essential to move this working of cocoa beans from the distant Mexico to our Modica. The Spanish domination, common in the territory of Mexico and Sicily, caused the natural introduction of this manufacture in Modica. It was exactly in Europe, where, the sugar was added, for the first time, to the cocoa bean ,during the chocolate processing. Even today, Modica’s chocolate is produced according to the old recipe.according to the old recipe.