Noto

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Thanks to a recent restoration, Palazzo Nicolaci can be appreciated in all its original beauty and is one of the symbols of Sicilian Baroque art. It was the city’s noble residence of the Nicolaci family and has four storeys: the ground floor was used for stables and storing food; the first floor was the piano nobile (main floor) where the Baron lived; the rest of the family stayed on the upper floor, and the attic was for the servants. portale d’accesso con balconeThe entrance portal is framed by two columns and is surmounted by a large balcony.
The façade is a street theatre reminiscent of the theatre of Sicilian puppets because of the masks and characters carved into it.
Anyone passing through Via Corrado Nicolaci is in awe of the incredible corbels . Five for each balcony, they depict mythological figures including mermaids, sphinxes and horses. Each corbel is richly decorated, almost as though in fear of leaving even the smallest of spaces free.
Such attention to decoration can be found in the cornices around the windows; they feature plant elements, human faces and masks.
As for the material used, it is the typical stone of Noto which turns a honey colour when hit by the sun and emits endless colours depending on the time of day.

balcone, con finestra con sirene dettaglio sirena

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

The city of museums

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A symbol for the town

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Searching for colour

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Discovering the mother church

Some masterpieces

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

A new site for a new church

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Feast days

The church of Carmine

The wall comes to life

A miniature city

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Wonderful quick decorations

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A talking palace

A colourful floor

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A new site for a new city

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

New roads for Catania

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A prominent church

St. Sebastian, so much work!

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Many owners, one palace

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Prominent façade

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

One city, two sites

The Baroque town by the sea

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The internal colours

Between white and black

Norman apses

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A city in colour

The two churches

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A half-Baroque church

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The interior and its masterpieces

An eagle-shaped city

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

A long reconstruction

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A hall for the feasts

The Staircase of Angels

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The disastrous earthquake

The chocolate of Modica

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

From International Gothic to present day

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

The Burgos crucifix

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A triumph of colour

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Two illustrious patron saints

The theatre of taste

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

A small room with a golden entrance

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Some prestigious works

Feasting in Palazzolo

A museum to save a tradition

A feast only for Scicli

The colours of the cathedral

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A square as the heart of the city