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.

Norman apses

A new site for a new city

A small room with a golden entrance

Some prestigious works

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

One city, two sites

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A museum to save a tradition

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Baroque town by the sea

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A miniature city

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

A talking palace

Between white and black

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A hall for the feasts

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The internal colours

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A triumph of colour

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

The city of museums

A square as the heart of the city

A colourful floor

Wonderful quick decorations

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

A prominent church

A half-Baroque church

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Staircase of Angels

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

An eagle-shaped city

A city in colour

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

A new site for a new church

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

Searching for colour

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Maiolica of the staircase

From International Gothic to present day

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Many owners, one palace

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

A majestic and luminous church

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The colours of the cathedral

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The interior and its masterpieces

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The theatre of taste

Feast days

Two illustrious patron saints

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The disastrous earthquake

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

One city, three sites

A symbol for the town

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Prominent façade

The church of Carmine

New roads for Catania

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The two churches

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Burgos crucifix

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

Some masterpieces

The wall comes to life

The chocolate of Modica

A long reconstruction