Noto

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The city was rebuilt in the aftermath of the tragic earthquake, and when the significant powers, clergy and aristocracy asked for their palaces to be rebuilt, it was the Baron Asmundo who divided the land perfectly.
Since the heart of the city in the lower area was the Cathedral, that was where the new palaces were built.Palazzo Nicolaci salendo via Nicolaci verso la chiesa To the right of the church are the religious buildings, the Archbishop’s Palace and the monastery of the Holy Saviour; on the land to the left the residences of the most influential aristocratic families in Noto were built, Palazzo Landolina and Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata.
The latter was built between 1720 and 1750 by Don Giacomo Nicolaci , on the present day Via Corrado Nicolaci.
The question of who the architect was has never been resolved; there are many theories and few certainties. However, it remains one of the most interesting and surprising buildings in Noto for the exuberant corbels that support the balconies of the façade and the round-bottomed wrought iron railings.

Two illustrious patron saints

New roads for Catania

Wonderful quick decorations

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

Prominent façade

A museum to save a tradition

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

Norman apses

The wall comes to life

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A miniature city

Feasting in Palazzolo

An eagle-shaped city

A new site for a new city

Some masterpieces

One city, three sites

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Between white and black

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A hall for the feasts

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The colours of the cathedral

From International Gothic to present day

The chocolate of Modica

Many owners, one palace

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The theatre of taste

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The two churches

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Feast days

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A long reconstruction

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A city in colour

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A majestic and luminous church

Discovering the mother church

One city, two sites

A triumph of colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The church of Carmine

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A prominent church

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Some prestigious works

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A square as the heart of the city

Searching for colour

The Burgos crucifix

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new site for a new church

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

A symbol for the town

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

The disastrous earthquake

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A colourful floor

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A half-Baroque church

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A small room with a golden entrance

The Maiolica of the staircase

The city of museums

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

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

The interior and its masterpieces

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