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.

The Maiolica of the staircase

Two illustrious patron saints

Prominent façade

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A small room with a golden entrance

From International Gothic to present day

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A square as the heart of the city

The wall comes to life

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The internal colours

A colourful floor

Norman apses

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Staircase of Angels

A long reconstruction

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The interior and its masterpieces

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A triumph of colour

Many owners, one palace

A half-Baroque church

A new site for a new church

The colours of the cathedral

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

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The church of Carmine

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

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

The disastrous earthquake

A Nobel Prize in Modica

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The chocolate of Modica

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A city in colour

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

A prominent church

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A symbol for the town

The two churches

A miniature city

Feasting in Palazzolo

A majestic and luminous church

New roads for Catania

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A talking palace

A hall for the feasts

A feast only for Scicli

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The city of museums

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Searching for colour

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

The Baroque town by the sea

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

Between white and black

The Burgos crucifix

An eagle-shaped city

One city, two sites

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Some prestigious works

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The theatre of taste

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

Feast days

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

Discovering the mother church