Noto

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The city was rebuilt in the aftermath of the tragic earthquake, and when the significant powers, clergy and aristocracy asked for their palaces to be rebuilt, it was the Baron Asmundo who divided the land perfectly.
Since the heart of the city in the lower area was the Cathedral, that was where the new palaces were built.Palazzo Nicolaci salendo via Nicolaci verso la chiesa To the right of the church are the religious buildings, the Archbishop’s Palace and the monastery of the Holy Saviour; on the land to the left the residences of the most influential aristocratic families in Noto were built, Palazzo Landolina and Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata.
The latter was built between 1720 and 1750 by Don Giacomo Nicolaci , on the present day Via Corrado Nicolaci.
The question of who the architect was has never been resolved; there are many theories and few certainties. However, it remains one of the most interesting and surprising buildings in Noto for the exuberant corbels that support the balconies of the façade and the round-bottomed wrought iron railings.

Between white and black

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Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The colours of the cathedral

One city, two sites

From International Gothic to present day

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

The Baroque town by the sea

A half-Baroque church

A symbol for the town

A colourful floor

The Staircase of Angels

Prominent façade

Norman apses

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The theatre of taste

The internal colours

A triumph of colour

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A city in colour

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Discovering the mother church

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The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

One city, three sites

A majestic and luminous church

A new site for a new city

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The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A small room with a golden entrance

New roads for Catania

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

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Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A long reconstruction

Many owners, one palace

A miniature city

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The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A feast only for Scicli

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The disastrous earthquake

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