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.

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A colourful floor

Some prestigious works

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Burgos crucifix

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Two illustrious patron saints

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Many owners, one palace

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Between white and black

A museum to save a tradition

The city of museums

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Norman apses

Feast days

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The wall comes to life

The disastrous earthquake

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A feast only for Scicli

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

Prominent façade

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Staircase of Angels

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

A miniature city

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A talking palace

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

One city, two sites

A symbol for the town

The chocolate of Modica

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The two churches

Some masterpieces

The colours of the cathedral

A square as the heart of the city

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

The Baroque town by the sea

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A triumph of colour

A hall for the feasts

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

The internal colours

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Maiolica of the staircase

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

An eagle-shaped city

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

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

One city, three sites

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

From International Gothic to present day

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A half-Baroque church

Feasting in Palazzolo

Discovering the mother church

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A city in colour

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The interior and its masterpieces

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A prominent church

New roads for Catania

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

A long reconstruction

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The theatre of taste