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 city of museums

The Maiolica of the staircase

The interior and its masterpieces

A colourful floor

From International Gothic to present day

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

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A new site for a new city

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A small room with a golden entrance

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A museum to save a tradition

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

Discovering the mother church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A city in colour

Some prestigious works

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

A prominent church

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

Between white and black

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Some masterpieces

An eagle-shaped city

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Two illustrious patron saints

The theatre of taste

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A square as the heart of the city

One city, two sites

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Burgos crucifix

New roads for Catania

A half-Baroque church

A new site for a new church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The two churches

The church of Carmine

Many owners, one palace

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A majestic and luminous church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The chocolate of Modica

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Baroque town by the sea

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The façade used as a puppet theatre

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Staircase of Angels

The wall comes to life

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A long reconstruction

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A hall for the feasts

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A talking palace

The disastrous earthquake

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

One city, three sites

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A feast only for Scicli

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Feast days

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The internal colours

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Searching for colour

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The colours of the cathedral

A miniature city

Prominent façade

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Norman apses