WHL

Criteria for including the towns of the Val di Noto in the WHL

The “Val di Noto” (Noto Valley) is the area with the eight most important towns in south-eastern Sicily among those that were affected in 1693 by the disastrous earthquake and rebuilt during the 18th century in late Baroque style. These towns are: Catania, Militello in Val di Catania, Caltagirone, Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Palazzolo Acreide and Noto. They were inscribed in the WHL at the Budapest Conference of 24-29 June 2002, according to the following criteria:

  • this group of towns in south-eastern Sicily provides outstanding testimony to the exuberant genius of late Baroque art and architecture;
  • the towns of the Val di Noto represent the culmination and final flowering of Baroque art in Europe;
  • the exceptional quality of the late Baroque art and architecture in the Val di Noto lies in its geographical and chronological homogeneity, and is the result of the 1693 earthquake in this region;
  • the eight Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto in south-eastern Sicily are characteristic of the settlement pattern and urban form of this region, and are permanently at risk from earthquakes and the eruptions of Mount Etna.

In the Val di Noto the innovative drive of this cultural and artistic period came from the need to rebuild entire urban areas affected by the earthquake of 1693.
Homogeneous criteria were implemented in terms of diversity; some towns were rebuilt on their original site; others were moved to different places.
The towns chose their own architects, sculptors and painters and preferred local workers.  This led to the birth of a varied and diversified Baroque art. The commitment of the religious orders to educate the new generations of artists and architects in the cultural and artistic knowledge of Baroque Rome was crucial. It allowed the new workers to combine technical knowledge from local culture with the monumental dynamics of Roman Baroque.

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Many owners, one palace

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A long reconstruction

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

A new site for a new city

Discovering the mother church

A half-Baroque church

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

Feast days

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A triumph of colour

A symbol for the town

Searching for colour

A museum to save a tradition

A miniature city

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A colourful floor

A city in colour

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

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The church of Carmine

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Wonderful quick decorations

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A prominent church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Some prestigious works

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A hall for the feasts

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

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

The city of museums

A new site for a new church

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The chocolate of Modica

Limestone, the colour of harmony

One city, two sites

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

Between white and black

Prominent façade

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

From International Gothic to present day

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

New roads for Catania

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Norman apses

Feasting in Palazzolo

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A majestic and luminous church

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Some masterpieces

The Burgos crucifix

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A small room with a golden entrance

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The wall comes to life

The colours of the cathedral

A square as the heart of the city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A feast only for Scicli

The interior and its masterpieces

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

One city, three sites

The Baroque town by the sea

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The internal colours

The disastrous earthquake

The theatre of taste

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Staircase of Angels

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras