Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

hearing
The voices of the Infiorata festival

If we lived in Palazzo Nicolaci and were in one of the rooms overlooking Via Corrado Nicolaci, on the third Sunday in May we would hear voices in the street.
On this day, the Saluto alla Primavera (Greeting to Spring) is celebrated, also known as the Infiorata, which attracts many people to Noto.
Every year, depending on the theme, sixteen pictures are created with petals and the street is filled with voices.
You would hear comments about the pictures, the clicking of cameras, children running up and down the street and people greeting one another for the occasion.

sight
The journey of the Sun

The hall of feasts, or yellow room, hosted banquets and social events to which all the nobles of the surrounding area were invited.
Our attention is drawn to the room’s ceiling fresco, where Apollo is depicted driving the chariot of the Sun.
In this representation the sun takes the same exact path that it takes over the city of Noto.
No detail was left to chance! The Sun, the light, that which illuminates and gives life was painted as faithfully as in reality.

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The disastrous earthquake

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A talking palace

Feast days

Between white and black

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A triumph of colour

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The church of Carmine

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A long reconstruction

Norman apses

New roads for Catania

A miniature city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Many owners, one palace

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Some masterpieces

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

One city, two sites

A square as the heart of the city

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A colourful floor

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The theatre of taste

The Maiolica of the staircase

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Searching for colour

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

Some prestigious works

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A half-Baroque church

A new site for a new church

The wall comes to life

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

Discovering the mother church

The Baroque town by the sea

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The city of museums

The internal colours

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

Two illustrious patron saints

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

From International Gothic to present day

A museum to save a tradition

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A symbol for the town

A majestic and luminous church

The interior and its masterpieces

One city, three sites

A new site for a new city

Feasting in Palazzolo

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The colours of the cathedral

Wonderful quick decorations

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

A prominent church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Burgos crucifix

An eagle-shaped city

A city in colour

The Staircase of Angels

The chocolate of Modica

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Prominent façade

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The two churches

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

A small room with a golden entrance

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph