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 about Palazzo La Rocca

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

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

The disastrous earthquake

A talking palace

From International Gothic to present day

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A hall for the feasts

Wonderful quick decorations

The chocolate of Modica

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The theatre of taste

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The colours of the cathedral

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

One city, three sites

One city, two sites

Many owners, one palace

A city in colour

A symbol for the town

Feasting in Palazzolo

Discovering the mother church

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Feast days

Between white and black

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

A new site for a new church

A colourful floor

The wall comes to life

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

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

The church of Carmine

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

A triumph of colour

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Searching for colour

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Burgos crucifix

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A square as the heart of the city

Some prestigious works

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new site for a new city

The Baroque town by the sea

A majestic and luminous church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

A prominent church

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

Some masterpieces

A long reconstruction

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The internal colours

The Staircase of Angels

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The two churches

A half-Baroque church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The city of museums

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A feast only for Scicli

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A Nobel Prize in Modica

New roads for Catania

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A museum to save a tradition

An eagle-shaped city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Prominent façade

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The interior and its masterpieces

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A small room with a golden entrance

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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