Introduction to Val di Noto

Fantasies of light and colour

Introduction to the route

The proposed educational route retraces the main events of the history of the Val di Noto.
Through the suggested itineraries it intends to lead younger children along their discovery of the eight towns: Catania, Militello in Val di Catania, Caltagirone, Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Palazzolo Acreide and Noto.
This is a unique chance and opportunity to examine a territory rich in history.
Following the tragic earthquake of 1693, the towns of the Val di Noto were rebuilt with such homogeneity and richness from an artistic and architectural point of view that they were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The post-earthquake reconstruction is examined through many aspects that revolve around the brightness of paint colours, effects and plays on light and shadow that make the heritage a particularly fascinating and completely unusual sight. As well as featuring prominently in the lively character of the communities that inhabit these places, colour accompanies our gaze in a conscious interpretation of architectural shapes and unique landscapes, becoming an inspiration for artisanal production, too.
The children, then, can expect to experience many, powerful emotions.

The Maiolica of the staircase

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A hall for the feasts

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A symbol for the town

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

A colourful floor

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The wall comes to life

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

The city of museums

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A miniature city

The chocolate of Modica

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Searching for colour

Between white and black

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

An eagle-shaped city

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

New roads for Catania

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

The Staircase of Angels

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A triumph of colour

A majestic and luminous church

Norman apses

From International Gothic to present day

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Two illustrious patron saints

A long reconstruction

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A prominent church

A feast only for Scicli

A small room with a golden entrance

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The façade used as a puppet theatre

One city, three sites

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The colours of the cathedral

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Many owners, one palace

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A talking palace

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A museum to save a tradition

The theatre of taste

Feast days

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

Some masterpieces

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A city in colour

Some prestigious works

One city, two sites

The interior and its masterpieces

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A new site for a new church

A square as the heart of the city

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The two churches

A new site for a new city

A half-Baroque church

The Burgos crucifix

The church of Carmine