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

The interior and its masterpieces

The internal colours

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A feast only for Scicli

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The city of museums

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The Staircase of Angels

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Feast days

A small room with a golden entrance

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A triumph of colour

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The Burgos crucifix

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The theatre of taste

A half-Baroque church

Discovering the mother church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

A talking palace

Many owners, one palace

The Baroque town by the sea

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Some prestigious works

A city in colour

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The wall comes to life

A miniature city

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

The two churches

A new site for a new church

A square as the heart of the city

An eagle-shaped city

Wonderful quick decorations

A majestic and luminous church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

A prominent church

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A hall for the feasts

A museum to save a tradition

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The chocolate of Modica

The Maiolica of the staircase

The disastrous earthquake

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A colourful floor

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Some masterpieces

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The façade used as a puppet theatre

One city, two sites

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

One city, three sites

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A symbol for the town

Searching for colour

Between white and black

The colours of the cathedral

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Prominent façade

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The church of Carmine