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 Mother Church of San Nicolò and of the Santissimo Salvatore

One city, two sites

The city of museums

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The two churches

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

One city, three sites

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A majestic and luminous church

A hall for the feasts

A museum to save a tradition

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The internal colours

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Baroque town by the sea

A colourful floor

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Feasting in Palazzolo

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

New roads for Catania

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Searching for colour

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A symbol for the town

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

The Staircase of Angels

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A talking palace

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

Some prestigious works

The church of Carmine

The wall comes to life

A city in colour

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A miniature city

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

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Burgos crucifix

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

Some masterpieces

Wonderful quick decorations

A new site for a new city

The interior and its masterpieces

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Discovering the mother church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A new site for a new church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The disastrous earthquake

A small room with a golden entrance

A long reconstruction

Feast days

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Prominent façade

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The colours of the cathedral

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Two illustrious patron saints

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A half-Baroque church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Norman apses

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

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

A prominent church

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

An eagle-shaped city

Many owners, one palace

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A triumph of colour

The chocolate of Modica

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

The theatre of taste

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public