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.

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Burgos crucifix

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Norman apses

A half-Baroque church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

One city, two sites

The chocolate of Modica

A colourful floor

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The theatre of taste

A hall for the feasts

Wonderful quick decorations

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A small room with a golden entrance

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The disastrous earthquake

Some prestigious works

A new site for a new city

The interior and its masterpieces

A long reconstruction

A new site for a new church

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A prominent church

The Baroque town by the sea

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

From International Gothic to present day

A feast only for Scicli

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

The wall comes to life

Feast days

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Feasting in Palazzolo

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A talking palace

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

The two churches

The internal colours

A city in colour

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A miniature city

New roads for Catania

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

St. Sebastian, so much work!

One city, three sites

A museum to save a tradition

A square as the heart of the city

Searching for colour

The church of Carmine

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Between white and black

An eagle-shaped city

A triumph of colour

A symbol for the town

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Prominent façade

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Staircase of Angels

Discovering the mother church

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

Many owners, one palace

The city of museums

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A majestic and luminous church

The Maiolica of the staircase