WHL

Criteria for including the towns of the Val di Noto in the WHL

The “Val di Noto” (Noto Valley) is the area with the eight most important towns in south-eastern Sicily among those that were affected in 1693 by the disastrous earthquake and rebuilt during the 18th century in late Baroque style. These towns are: Catania, Militello in Val di Catania, Caltagirone, Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Palazzolo Acreide and Noto. They were inscribed in the WHL at the Budapest Conference of 24-29 June 2002, according to the following criteria:

  • this group of towns in south-eastern Sicily provides outstanding testimony to the exuberant genius of late Baroque art and architecture;
  • the towns of the Val di Noto represent the culmination and final flowering of Baroque art in Europe;
  • the exceptional quality of the late Baroque art and architecture in the Val di Noto lies in its geographical and chronological homogeneity, and is the result of the 1693 earthquake in this region;
  • the eight Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto in south-eastern Sicily are characteristic of the settlement pattern and urban form of this region, and are permanently at risk from earthquakes and the eruptions of Mount Etna.

In the Val di Noto the innovative drive of this cultural and artistic period came from the need to rebuild entire urban areas affected by the earthquake of 1693.
Homogeneous criteria were implemented in terms of diversity; some towns were rebuilt on their original site; others were moved to different places.
The towns chose their own architects, sculptors and painters and preferred local workers.  This led to the birth of a varied and diversified Baroque art. The commitment of the religious orders to educate the new generations of artists and architects in the cultural and artistic knowledge of Baroque Rome was crucial. It allowed the new workers to combine technical knowledge from local culture with the monumental dynamics of Roman Baroque.

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A feast only for Scicli

The city of museums

Some prestigious works

One city, three sites

A symbol for the town

A colourful floor

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Baroque town by the sea

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A hall for the feasts

A prominent church

A museum to save a tradition

The Staircase of Angels

Many owners, one palace

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The two churches

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The chocolate of Modica

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A half-Baroque church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A city in colour

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Burgos crucifix

The interior and its masterpieces

The theatre of taste

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The colours of the cathedral

From International Gothic to present day

The disastrous earthquake

The internal colours

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

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A small room with a golden entrance

A talking palace

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Feasting in Palazzolo

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A miniature city

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Between white and black

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A long reconstruction

The church of Carmine

Prominent façade

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

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

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Two illustrious patron saints

A square as the heart of the city

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

An eagle-shaped city

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Maiolica of the staircase

Some masterpieces

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new site for a new city

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

Searching for colour

A majestic and luminous church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

One city, two sites

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Feast days

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A new site for a new church

Discovering the mother church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

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

A triumph of colour

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

New roads for Catania