Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

sight
A panorama over Noto

The terrace of Santa Chiara will take your breath away! Partly because of all the stairs you have to climb, but more so for the spectacular view.
The whole city of Noto is below you, where infinite shades of colours embellish the landscape.
The green of the trees and surrounding hills; the blue of the sea that shines brightly in the distance, illuminated by the sun like a carpet of diamonds; and the golden cathedral of San Nicolò whose façade and round dome can be seen. A show of lights and colours!vista dalla terrazza di Santa Chiara

touch
The warm stucco

The gilded stuccoes on the ceiling of Santa Chiara (St. Claire) shine in the sunlight.
To the touch they will always be warmer than any other cold marble statue or sculpture, which are unable to retain heat.
Like stucco, wood will also always be warmer than this precious and ice-cold stone.

hearing
A gentle song

The nuns’singing was remarkable.
During religious services the church was filled with sweet voices and gentle songs alternating with delicate prayers.
If you return to the 18th century in your mind you can still hear the engrossed nuns singing Gloria del Signore (Glory of the Lord).

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A prominent church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Feasting in Palazzolo

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new site for a new church

The wall comes to life

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A long reconstruction

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

Discovering the mother church

The disastrous earthquake

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A symbol for the town

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

The city of museums

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A miniature city

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

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

Prominent façade

The two churches

A talking palace

The Maiolica of the staircase

A majestic and luminous church

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

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

A colourful floor

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A half-Baroque church

New roads for Catania

Feast days

Norman apses

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The interior and its masterpieces

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A city in colour

A museum to save a tradition

The church of Carmine

A feast only for Scicli

A small room with a golden entrance

Many owners, one palace

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Searching for colour

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The theatre of taste

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Two illustrious patron saints

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Some prestigious works

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

An eagle-shaped city

A new site for a new city

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A square as the heart of the city

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Some masterpieces

The Staircase of Angels

A triumph of colour

The colours of the cathedral

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

Wonderful quick decorations

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

One city, two sites

The chocolate of Modica

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Between white and black