Introduction to Val di Noto

Fantasies of light and colour

Introduction to the route

The proposed educational route retraces the main events of the history of the Val di Noto.
Through the suggested itineraries it intends to lead younger children along their discovery of the eight towns: Catania, Militello in Val di Catania, Caltagirone, Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Palazzolo Acreide and Noto.
This is a unique chance and opportunity to examine a territory rich in history.
Following the tragic earthquake of 1693, the towns of the Val di Noto were rebuilt with such homogeneity and richness from an artistic and architectural point of view that they were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The post-earthquake reconstruction is examined through many aspects that revolve around the brightness of paint colours, effects and plays on light and shadow that make the heritage a particularly fascinating and completely unusual sight. As well as featuring prominently in the lively character of the communities that inhabit these places, colour accompanies our gaze in a conscious interpretation of architectural shapes and unique landscapes, becoming an inspiration for artisanal production, too.
The children, then, can expect to experience many, powerful emotions.

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A city in colour

A miniature city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Staircase of Angels

Some masterpieces

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A talking palace

From International Gothic to present day

New roads for Catania

A feast only for Scicli

One city, two sites

Some prestigious works

A half-Baroque church

A symbol for the town

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Norman apses

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new site for a new church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Baroque town by the sea

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

The theatre of taste

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The internal colours

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A colourful floor

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

A museum to save a tradition

The church of Carmine

The wall comes to life

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Burgos crucifix

A small room with a golden entrance

A long reconstruction

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The interior and its masterpieces

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The city of museums

A triumph of colour

The Maiolica of the staircase

The chocolate of Modica

A new site for a new city

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Between white and black

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

One city, three sites

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Many owners, one palace

A prominent church

A majestic and luminous church

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Discovering the mother church

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Searching for colour

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

Feast days

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A hall for the feasts

The colours of the cathedral

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Two illustrious patron saints

Prominent façade

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