Noto

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Corbels are one of the most characteristic elements of the palaces of the Val di Noto. They make the façades of the noble buildings unique and animated. Carefully designed and sculpted by the best artisans, the corbels of Palazzo Nicolaci liven up the street that shares the same name.
Each one was created according to a precise design, “the virtues of the Nicolaci”. You can see winged horses with their front legs reaching out to freedom, and winged figures looking to the future.
The central door is followed by sirens, symbols of spirituality, and the balcony of chimeras , monstrous mythological creatures with a lion’s face, symbols of power.
At the beginning and end there are two large corbels dedicated to the Nicolaci family, who went from being simple merchants to barons then princes, all of which is depicted by the metaphor of a child who grows up and becomes an adult.
It is a symbolic building of Baroque architecture and the political and economic power achieved by the family.
sirena balcone chimera balcone lateralmente

A new site for a new church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

The city of museums

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The façade used as a puppet theatre

An eagle-shaped city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Baroque town by the sea

A hall for the feasts

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Between white and black

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

A miniature city

Two illustrious patron saints

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The colours of the cathedral

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Wonderful quick decorations

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

A talking palace

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A prominent church

A colourful floor

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A long reconstruction

Prominent façade

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The interior and its masterpieces

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

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Burgos crucifix

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The theatre of taste

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

A majestic and luminous church

A square as the heart of the city

The chocolate of Modica

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A feast only for Scicli

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

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Staircase of Angels

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Searching for colour

A city in colour

The wall comes to life

Feasting in Palazzolo

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

A museum to save a tradition

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Many owners, one palace

One city, two sites

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A symbol for the town

The Maiolica of the staircase

From International Gothic to present day

A half-Baroque church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

New roads for Catania

One city, three sites

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The two churches

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

Discovering the mother church

Norman apses

The internal colours

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

Some prestigious works

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A small room with a golden entrance

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

The church of Carmine

The character of Badia Sant’Agata