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.

A feast only for Scicli

Some masterpieces

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

The internal colours

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

Wonderful quick decorations

Norman apses

A colourful floor

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Between white and black

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A miniature city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The colours of the cathedral

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

A square as the heart of the city

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

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

Some prestigious works

A triumph of colour

One city, two sites

The Maiolica of the staircase

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A half-Baroque church

Searching for colour

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

An eagle-shaped city

The interior and its masterpieces

The theatre of taste

From International Gothic to present day

The wall comes to life

A prominent church

The church of Carmine

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Staircase of Angels

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Discovering the mother church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A city in colour

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Prominent façade

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The two churches

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The disastrous earthquake

A talking palace

A new site for a new church

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

A majestic and luminous church

Two illustrious patron saints

One city, three sites

Many owners, one palace

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

A museum to save a tradition

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The chocolate of Modica

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Feast days

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Feasting in Palazzolo

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A symbol for the town

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Burgos crucifix

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A small room with a golden entrance

A long reconstruction

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Limestone, the colour of harmony

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new site for a new city

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

New roads for Catania