Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

hearing
The voices of the Infiorata festival

If we lived in Palazzo Nicolaci and were in one of the rooms overlooking Via Corrado Nicolaci, on the third Sunday in May we would hear voices in the street.
On this day, the Saluto alla Primavera (Greeting to Spring) is celebrated, also known as the Infiorata, which attracts many people to Noto.
Every year, depending on the theme, sixteen pictures are created with petals and the street is filled with voices.
You would hear comments about the pictures, the clicking of cameras, children running up and down the street and people greeting one another for the occasion.

sight
The journey of the Sun

The hall of feasts, or yellow room, hosted banquets and social events to which all the nobles of the surrounding area were invited.
Our attention is drawn to the room’s ceiling fresco, where Apollo is depicted driving the chariot of the Sun.
In this representation the sun takes the same exact path that it takes over the city of Noto.
No detail was left to chance! The Sun, the light, that which illuminates and gives life was painted as faithfully as in reality.

One city, three sites

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The chocolate of Modica

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The church of Carmine

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Discovering the mother church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The interior and its masterpieces

A triumph of colour

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

The theatre of taste

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

From International Gothic to present day

A prominent church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The city of museums

Feast days

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Searching for colour

The wall comes to life

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

Between white and black

The two churches

The Baroque town by the sea

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The disastrous earthquake

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A symbol for the town

A square as the heart of the city

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Burgos crucifix

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The colours of the cathedral

Many owners, one palace

A majestic and luminous church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

Two illustrious patron saints

A museum to save a tradition

A new site for a new city

Some prestigious works

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Feasting in Palazzolo

The internal colours

A colourful floor

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

One city, two sites

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A small room with a golden entrance

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

Wonderful quick decorations

A talking palace

A miniature city

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A half-Baroque church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A new site for a new church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A feast only for Scicli

Prominent façade

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Some masterpieces

New roads for Catania

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A hall for the feasts

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