Noto

A new site for a new city

The beautiful city of Noto was the result of a significant reconstruction that took place following the tragic earthquake of 1693. The city was completely destroyed. What to do next? Rebuild in the same location or choose a new site? The answer was late in coming and it took years before an agreement was reached! The   Duke of Camastra resolved the debate, decreeing the reconstruction of Noto in a new site on the Meti hill. But those who thought that work could finally begin were wrong! A new debate hindered reconstruction: was it to be built on the plateau, or in the valley up the slopes of the Meti hill? In this case the viceroy Cardinal Giudice intervened and everyone agreed: the new city of Noto could be rebuilt in both areas.
The new road layout was entrusted to the architect Angelo Italia .

via Vittorio EmanueleThe project involved the construction of three main roads that connected the upper and lower city, and a long avenue with large and illustrious palaces overlooking beautiful scenic squares.
The upper part was inhabited by the poorest citizens and the labourers who worked on the building sites.
The valley area, on the other hand, was the new residential district of rich aristocrats and religious orders.
Corso Vittorio Emanuele was the ideal place to build the noble palaces and religious buildings, churches and monasteries.

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The façade used as a puppet theatre

From International Gothic to present day

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The internal colours

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Staircase of Angels

An eagle-shaped city

One city, three sites

The interior and its masterpieces

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The theatre of taste

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The city of museums

A majestic and luminous church

The disastrous earthquake

A colourful floor

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

A miniature city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Many owners, one palace

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A long reconstruction

Feast days

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A triumph of colour

A half-Baroque church

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

A hall for the feasts

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

Norman apses

The chocolate of Modica

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The church of Carmine

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Discovering the mother church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A symbol for the town

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A square as the heart of the city

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Maiolica of the staircase

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Prominent façade

Between white and black

Searching for colour

Some prestigious works

The two churches

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

New roads for Catania

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A talking palace

A feast only for Scicli

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

A small room with a golden entrance

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A museum to save a tradition

A new site for a new church

The wall comes to life

A prominent church

The colours of the cathedral

Two illustrious patron saints

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Some masterpieces

One city, two sites

A new site for a new city

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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