Introduction to Val di Noto

Fantasies of light and colour

Introduction to the route

The proposed educational route retraces the main events of the history of the Val di Noto.
Through the suggested itineraries it intends to lead younger children along their discovery of the eight towns: Catania, Militello in Val di Catania, Caltagirone, Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Palazzolo Acreide and Noto.
This is a unique chance and opportunity to examine a territory rich in history.
Following the tragic earthquake of 1693, the towns of the Val di Noto were rebuilt with such homogeneity and richness from an artistic and architectural point of view that they were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The post-earthquake reconstruction is examined through many aspects that revolve around the brightness of paint colours, effects and plays on light and shadow that make the heritage a particularly fascinating and completely unusual sight. As well as featuring prominently in the lively character of the communities that inhabit these places, colour accompanies our gaze in a conscious interpretation of architectural shapes and unique landscapes, becoming an inspiration for artisanal production, too.
The children, then, can expect to experience many, powerful emotions.

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The disastrous earthquake

Prominent façade

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A majestic and luminous church

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Burgos crucifix

Feast days

Between white and black

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

An eagle-shaped city

One city, three sites

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A miniature city

The theatre of taste

From the contrast of the exterior to the internal jubilation of colours

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A square as the heart of the city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Searching for colour

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Badia di Sant’Agata

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the staircase of Santa Maria del Monte

The internal colours

A city in colour

Norman apses

Discovering the mother church

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new site for a new city

A hall for the feasts

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A colourful floor

One city, two sites

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giovanni Battista

Some prestigious works

The Baroque town by the sea

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Maiolica of the staircase

Two illustrious patron saints

Wonderful quick decorations

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A museum to save a tradition

The role of the religious orders in rebuilding the Val di Noto

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giuliano ai Crociferi

A talking palace

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A symbol for the town

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Some masterpieces

From International Gothic to present day

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A feast only for Scicli

The church of Carmine

A prominent church

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the Mother Church of San Nicolò and of the Santissimo Salvatore

Many owners, one palace

Freedom of worship and the role of the Catholic Church in the diffusion of Baroque

Church of San Giuliano (St. Julian) on Via dei Crociferi: reconstruction

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The chocolate of Modica

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A small room with a golden entrance

A half-Baroque church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the church of Santa Maria del Carmelo

The city of museums

New roads for Catania

A long reconstruction

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and San NicoIò l’Arena