Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

sight
A panorama over Noto

The terrace of Santa Chiara will take your breath away! Partly because of all the stairs you have to climb, but more so for the spectacular view.
The whole city of Noto is below you, where infinite shades of colours embellish the landscape.
The green of the trees and surrounding hills; the blue of the sea that shines brightly in the distance, illuminated by the sun like a carpet of diamonds; and the golden cathedral of San Nicolò whose façade and round dome can be seen. A show of lights and colours!vista dalla terrazza di Santa Chiara

touch
The warm stucco

The gilded stuccoes on the ceiling of Santa Chiara (St. Claire) shine in the sunlight.
To the touch they will always be warmer than any other cold marble statue or sculpture, which are unable to retain heat.
Like stucco, wood will also always be warmer than this precious and ice-cold stone.

hearing
A gentle song

The nuns’singing was remarkable.
During religious services the church was filled with sweet voices and gentle songs alternating with delicate prayers.
If you return to the 18th century in your mind you can still hear the engrossed nuns singing Gloria del Signore (Glory of the Lord).

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The disastrous earthquake

Feasting in Palazzolo

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A symbol for the town

Feast days

A half-Baroque church

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A miniature city

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

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A city in colour

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

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Some prestigious works

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Baroque town by the sea

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

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

A long reconstruction

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Some masterpieces

A talking palace

One city, three sites

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Prominent façade

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The theatre of taste

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Maiolica of the staircase

A hall for the feasts

The two churches

A feast only for Scicli

A triumph of colour

The colours of the cathedral

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new site for a new city

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Many owners, one palace

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Between white and black

A museum to save a tradition

Two illustrious patron saints

A square as the heart of the city

Searching for colour

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The interior and its masterpieces

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

New roads for Catania

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A prominent church

Wonderful quick decorations

A new site for a new church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Norman apses

The internal colours

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Burgos crucifix

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Discovering the mother church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

The wall comes to life

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A colourful floor

An eagle-shaped city

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

The Staircase of Angels

The church of Carmine

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A small room with a golden entrance

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci