Connections with other UNESCO sites

The route in the Val di Noto is a journey to discover some of the cities in eastern Sicily rebuilt after the tragic earthquake of 1693.
New cities, new churches and new stately palaces were rebuilt.
The cities were designed rationally, and the careful and well-thought-out street layout made up of roads that intersected at right angles was one of the characteristic elements of the reconstruction. This element can be found not only in the cities of the Val di Noto, but in other UNESCO heritage cities, such as Agrigento and Palermo.
The latter has an additional link to Catania: both cities one century later saw the construction of the Quattro Canti, a large and scenic square created from the intersection of two streets at a right angle.
But the link between the Sicilian UNESCO sites does not end here.
The wonderful archaeological site of Piazza Armerina shows a great variety and wealth of materials, a sign that the inhabitant of the Roman villa must have been a prominent figure. This need to express social status through one’s residence was not only typical of the 4th century but also of the 18th century, as seen by Palazzo Tommasi-Rosso and Palazzo Nicolaci.
In this analysis, which aims to link the UNESCO sites together, we must stress the role played by religious orders.
In every city they built splendid cathedrals, churches and monasteries, like those of the Benedictines in Catania and the Aeolian Islands.
These are joined by traditional religious feasts, which hold a special place in the hearts of Sicilians. Long celebrations are dedicated, to name but a few, to St. Agatha in Catania, St. Lucy in Syracuse and St. Rosalia in Palermo.

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Prominent façade

Searching for colour

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The disastrous earthquake

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

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A symbol for the town

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A colourful floor

Two illustrious patron saints

Feasting in Palazzolo

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Many owners, one palace

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Discovering the mother church

A museum to save a tradition

A hall for the feasts

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A long reconstruction

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

A half-Baroque church

A triumph of colour

Some masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A small room with a golden entrance

A miniature city

The church of Carmine

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

Wonderful quick decorations

A majestic and luminous church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

One city, two sites

A city in colour

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

From International Gothic to present day

The theatre of taste

New roads for Catania

Some prestigious works

The city of museums

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A feast only for Scicli

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A talking palace

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Baroque town by the sea

Feast days

An eagle-shaped city

Between white and black

A new site for a new city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The interior and its masterpieces

A square as the heart of the city

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

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Burgos crucifix

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The two churches

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

One city, three sites

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Staircase of Angels

The colours of the cathedral

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

The wall comes to life

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A new site for a new church

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours