Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

sight
A panorama over Noto

The terrace of Santa Chiara will take your breath away! Partly because of all the stairs you have to climb, but more so for the spectacular view.
The whole city of Noto is below you, where infinite shades of colours embellish the landscape.
The green of the trees and surrounding hills; the blue of the sea that shines brightly in the distance, illuminated by the sun like a carpet of diamonds; and the golden cathedral of San Nicolò whose façade and round dome can be seen. A show of lights and colours!vista dalla terrazza di Santa Chiara

touch
The warm stucco

The gilded stuccoes on the ceiling of Santa Chiara (St. Claire) shine in the sunlight.
To the touch they will always be warmer than any other cold marble statue or sculpture, which are unable to retain heat.
Like stucco, wood will also always be warmer than this precious and ice-cold stone.

hearing
A gentle song

The nuns’singing was remarkable.
During religious services the church was filled with sweet voices and gentle songs alternating with delicate prayers.
If you return to the 18th century in your mind you can still hear the engrossed nuns singing Gloria del Signore (Glory of the Lord).

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

A miniature city

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A long reconstruction

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The disastrous earthquake

From International Gothic to present day

The church of Carmine

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Norman apses

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

An eagle-shaped city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The wall comes to life

A new site for a new city

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Two illustrious patron saints

The theatre of taste

Feasting in Palazzolo

A half-Baroque church

A symbol for the town

The two churches

A prominent church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The city of museums

Some prestigious works

A colourful floor

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A new site for a new church

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

One city, three sites

Searching for colour

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Discovering the mother church

A feast only for Scicli

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The chocolate of Modica

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

One city, two sites

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

The Baroque town by the sea

A small room with a golden entrance

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Some masterpieces

The internal colours

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A city in colour

A hall for the feasts

A majestic and luminous church

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

The interior and its masterpieces

A talking palace

New roads for Catania

Prominent façade

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A museum to save a tradition

Wonderful quick decorations

The Maiolica of the staircase

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A triumph of colour

Between white and black

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso