Noto

A new site for a new city

The beautiful city of Noto was the result of a significant reconstruction that took place following the tragic earthquake of 1693. The city was completely destroyed. What to do next? Rebuild in the same location or choose a new site? The answer was late in coming and it took years before an agreement was reached! The   Duke of Camastra resolved the debate, decreeing the reconstruction of Noto in a new site on the Meti hill. But those who thought that work could finally begin were wrong! A new debate hindered reconstruction: was it to be built on the plateau, or in the valley up the slopes of the Meti hill? In this case the viceroy Cardinal Giudice intervened and everyone agreed: the new city of Noto could be rebuilt in both areas.
The new road layout was entrusted to the architect Angelo Italia .

via Vittorio EmanueleThe project involved the construction of three main roads that connected the upper and lower city, and a long avenue with large and illustrious palaces overlooking beautiful scenic squares.
The upper part was inhabited by the poorest citizens and the labourers who worked on the building sites.
The valley area, on the other hand, was the new residential district of rich aristocrats and religious orders.
Corso Vittorio Emanuele was the ideal place to build the noble palaces and religious buildings, churches and monasteries.

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A city in colour

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A museum to save a tradition

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

From International Gothic to present day

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The church of Carmine

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A symbol for the town

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A talking palace

A triumph of colour

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Staircase of Angels

A majestic and luminous church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

An eagle-shaped city

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new site for a new church

The disastrous earthquake

Discovering the mother church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A prominent church

Prominent façade

Wonderful quick decorations

The theatre of taste

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The colours of the cathedral

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

A feast only for Scicli

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A small room with a golden entrance

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A hall for the feasts

A miniature city

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

Some prestigious works

The city of museums

Norman apses

The two churches

New roads for Catania

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Searching for colour

The internal colours

Many owners, one palace

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The interior and its masterpieces

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Two illustrious patron saints

One city, two sites

The Maiolica of the staircase

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

One city, three sites

Some masterpieces

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Feast days

The Burgos crucifix

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A colourful floor

A long reconstruction

Between white and black

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

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation