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.

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

One city, two sites

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

Prominent façade

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Many owners, one palace

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

The city of museums

A small room with a golden entrance

An eagle-shaped city

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A hall for the feasts

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Maiolica of the staircase

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Staircase of Angels

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A long reconstruction

Norman apses

The interior and its masterpieces

The internal colours

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

A new site for a new city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The church of Carmine

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

The disastrous earthquake

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The chocolate of Modica

Searching for colour

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

Between white and black

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

One city, three sites

A symbol for the town

The theatre of taste

A majestic and luminous church

From International Gothic to present day

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A triumph of colour

Some masterpieces

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A miniature city

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Burgos crucifix

The Baroque town by the sea

New roads for Catania

A prominent church

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

A square as the heart of the city

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The wall comes to life

Feast days

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A half-Baroque church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Discovering the mother church

A colourful floor

The two churches

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Modica, a city with ancient origins

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A museum to save a tradition

The colours of the cathedral

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A city in colour

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A talking palace

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Some prestigious works

Wonderful quick decorations

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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 senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation