Noto

A hall for the feasts

Today you can visit the piano nobile (main floor) of Palazzo Nicolaci, where you can discover and imagine how people lived in the time of Don Giacomo Nicolaci. The Nicolaci family made its fortune thanks to the tuna trade and became part of the aristocracy as it acquired the rank of nobility.
But let’s return to the palace.
It has around ninety rooms and splendid, shimmering and precious glass chandeliers.
The most important room was the Salone delle Feste (Hall of Feasts), like in any respectable noble palace. The ceiling depicts Apollo driving the chariot and chasing Aurora.
Salone delle Feste la volta
A little further down, like a ribbon running horizontally along all the walls, there is a symbolic decoration, a nod to the activities and interests of the commissioner .
In fact, you can spot fishing nets, telescopes, rifles, chessboards and antique vases. The painting technique of trompe l'oeil , from the French for “deceive the eye”, was used on the walls.decorazione, colonna affaccio The decoration makes those in the room believe that they are in an outdoor environment, in this case under a portico. There is the balustrade, the columns that seem to support the structure above, the curtains and the blue colour that simulates the sky. This is where we have to imagine the rich feasts in the late 18th century, dances, banquets, ladies in cumbersome embroidered dresses, gentlemen with absurd wigs and good music to delight the guests.Salone delle Feste

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Norman apses

The wall comes to life

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

Some masterpieces

The Staircase of Angels

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The church of Carmine

A symbol for the town

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Wonderful quick decorations

A hall for the feasts

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Burgos crucifix

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A feast only for Scicli

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The colours of the cathedral

From International Gothic to present day

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

A prominent church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A majestic and luminous church

A colourful floor

A small room with a golden entrance

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

New roads for Catania

A talking palace

The internal colours

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Feast days

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

Prominent façade

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A museum to save a tradition

The chocolate of Modica

A city in colour

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Between white and black

The two churches

Two illustrious patron saints

Some prestigious works

The disastrous earthquake

The interior and its masterpieces

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

A new site for a new city

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The city of museums

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A half-Baroque church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Many owners, one palace

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The theatre of taste

Discovering the mother church

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

A miniature city

Searching for colour

One city, two sites

A new site for a new church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A long reconstruction

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A square as the heart of the city

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