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

Some prestigious works

A colourful floor

Many owners, one palace

A feast only for Scicli

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Wonderful quick decorations

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

One city, two sites

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Baroque town by the sea

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The internal colours

A new site for a new city

The Maiolica of the staircase

A talking palace

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

From International Gothic to present day

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

A half-Baroque church

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

A miniature city

The disastrous earthquake

Prominent façade

A triumph of colour

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Feast days

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Some masterpieces

Between white and black

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

One city, three sites

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The city of museums

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The two churches

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

Searching for colour

An eagle-shaped city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The wall comes to life

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The interior and its masterpieces

Norman apses

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A prominent church

The Staircase of Angels

Two illustrious patron saints

A symbol for the town

Feasting in Palazzolo

A small room with a golden entrance

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Discovering the mother church

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

The church of Carmine

A square as the heart of the city

New roads for Catania

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A majestic and luminous church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A new site for a new church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Burgos crucifix

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The colours of the cathedral

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A museum to save a tradition

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A city in colour

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The theatre of taste