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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

Some masterpieces

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Feast days

A long reconstruction

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A miniature city

A triumph of colour

The church of Carmine

A colourful floor

One city, three sites

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

Prominent façade

One city, two sites

The chocolate of Modica

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The two churches

A city in colour

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Searching for colour

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Some prestigious works

The Maiolica of the staircase

A new site for a new church

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Staircase of Angels

Wonderful quick decorations

New roads for Catania

Feasting in Palazzolo

The disastrous earthquake

The interior and its masterpieces

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The colours of the cathedral

A prominent church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A small room with a golden entrance

A new site for a new city

The internal colours

A majestic and luminous church

Norman apses

A feast only for Scicli

A hall for the feasts

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The wall comes to life

Between white and black

A talking palace

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The theatre of taste

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A symbol for the town

Discovering the mother church

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

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

An eagle-shaped city

A square as the heart of the city

The façade used as a puppet theatre

From International Gothic to present day

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Burgos crucifix

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A museum to save a tradition