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 wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Many owners, one palace

A prominent church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A triumph of colour

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

A small room with a golden entrance

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

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

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A city in colour

A colourful floor

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A miniature city

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Discovering the mother church

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

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

A symbol for the town

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A feast only for Scicli

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

From International Gothic to present day

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A square as the heart of the city

Two illustrious patron saints

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

The internal colours

The theatre of taste

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The city of museums

The chocolate of Modica

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

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The colours of the cathedral

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Feasting in Palazzolo

A museum to save a tradition

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Staircase of Angels

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A hall for the feasts

Prominent façade

Some prestigious works

The Burgos crucifix

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

The two churches

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A talking palace

The Baroque town by the sea

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Searching for colour

A half-Baroque church

One city, two sites

A majestic and luminous church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The Maiolica of the staircase

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Some masterpieces

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

An eagle-shaped city

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A new site for a new church

The church of Carmine

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

Wonderful quick decorations

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The interior and its masterpieces

Feast days

One city, three sites

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Norman apses

A Nobel Prize in Modica

New roads for Catania

A new site for a new city

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

The disastrous earthquake