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.

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Some masterpieces

Between white and black

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A symbol for the town

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The city of museums

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Many owners, one palace

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

An eagle-shaped city

A majestic and luminous church

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

The two churches

A city in colour

A small room with a golden entrance

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The theatre of taste

A colourful floor

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

One city, three sites

Feasting in Palazzolo

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A half-Baroque church

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A new site for a new church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Prominent façade

From International Gothic to present day

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The internal colours

A prominent church

The colours of the cathedral

Some prestigious works

Two illustrious patron saints

Norman apses

The Burgos crucifix

A talking palace

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A square as the heart of the city

A new site for a new city

Wonderful quick decorations

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

New roads for Catania

One city, two sites

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A museum to save a tradition

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Searching for colour

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The interior and its masterpieces

The Staircase of Angels

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The chocolate of Modica

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

The disastrous earthquake

Discovering the mother church

A triumph of colour

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

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

The church of Carmine

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A miniature city

The Baroque town by the sea

A feast only for Scicli

Feast days