Introduction to Val di Noto

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

In a report about the earthquake of 11 January 1693 the Bishop of Syracuse described a dramatic sight: “The sun obscured, the air, blackened and turbid, like the dark and bleeding clouds, and the dense dust from the buildings that was exhaled after the structures fell.”
According to the chroniclers, the atmosphere seemed suspended in a seemingly endless succession of earthquake tremors. The catastrophe took place in the early afternoon of the 11th of January and left an indelible scar in the memory of the Sicilian land.
The inhabitants of the Val di Noto ran to different shelters according to their social status: the rich fled to their properties outside the walls, the poor made for the woods or makeshift shelters such as huts and haystacks.
The clergy had to abandon their convents to the point of breaking centuries-old rules, such as seclusion, creating the image of a society broken apart by dramatic circumstances.

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

A triumph of colour

New roads for Catania

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

An eagle-shaped city

A feast only for Scicli

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The wall comes to life

Two illustrious patron saints

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

A city in colour

The theatre of taste

A majestic and luminous church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A small room with a golden entrance

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

Norman apses

A new site for a new city

The two churches

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The interior and its masterpieces

Modica, a city with ancient origins

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A hall for the feasts

A half-Baroque church

Feast days

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The city of museums

A new site for a new church

The Maiolica of the staircase

The colours of the cathedral

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Many owners, one palace

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The internal colours

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A symbol for the town

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The chocolate of Modica

Between white and black

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

From International Gothic to present day

A long reconstruction

Searching for colour

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

A colourful floor

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

One city, three sites

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

Prominent façade

The Burgos crucifix

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A prominent church

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A miniature city

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A museum to save a tradition

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

The church of Carmine

A talking palace

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

Discovering the mother church

A square as the heart of the city

The Staircase of Angels

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Wonderful quick decorations

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo