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 church of Carmine

Between white and black

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A feast only for Scicli

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Staircase of Angels

A square as the heart of the city

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The internal colours

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A majestic and luminous church

Some masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Some prestigious works

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

Prominent façade

The theatre of taste

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A new site for a new city

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Many owners, one palace

A long reconstruction

Feast days

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A talking palace

An eagle-shaped city

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

The Burgos crucifix

A prominent church

Two illustrious patron saints

A museum to save a tradition

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The chocolate of Modica

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Connections with other UNESCO sites

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A colourful floor

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A miniature city

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A new site for a new church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

A symbol for the town

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

One city, three sites

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A half-Baroque church

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

New roads for Catania

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

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

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A hall for the feasts

The two churches

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Discovering the mother church

Wonderful quick decorations

From International Gothic to present day

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The colours of the cathedral

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The disastrous earthquake

A triumph of colour

One city, two sites

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Norman apses

A city in colour

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The interior and its masterpieces

A small room with a golden entrance