Noto

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Thanks to a recent restoration, Palazzo Nicolaci can be appreciated in all its original beauty and is one of the symbols of Sicilian Baroque art. It was the city’s noble residence of the Nicolaci family and has four storeys: the ground floor was used for stables and storing food; the first floor was the piano nobile (main floor) where the Baron lived; the rest of the family stayed on the upper floor, and the attic was for the servants. portale d’accesso con balconeThe entrance portal is framed by two columns and is surmounted by a large balcony.
The façade is a street theatre reminiscent of the theatre of Sicilian puppets because of the masks and characters carved into it.
Anyone passing through Via Corrado Nicolaci is in awe of the incredible corbels . Five for each balcony, they depict mythological figures including mermaids, sphinxes and horses. Each corbel is richly decorated, almost as though in fear of leaving even the smallest of spaces free.
Such attention to decoration can be found in the cornices around the windows; they feature plant elements, human faces and masks.
As for the material used, it is the typical stone of Noto which turns a honey colour when hit by the sun and emits endless colours depending on the time of day.

balcone, con finestra con sirene dettaglio sirena

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The theatre of taste

Wonderful quick decorations

Feasting in Palazzolo

A new site for a new church

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

Between white and black

Norman apses

Many owners, one palace

A majestic and luminous church

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

A long reconstruction

The Burgos crucifix

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The internal colours

The wall comes to life

Feast days

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A miniature city

The colours of the cathedral

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Staircase of Angels

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

A hall for the feasts

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Limestone, the colour of harmony

An eagle-shaped city

The church of Carmine

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

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

A museum to save a tradition

New roads for Catania

A square as the heart of the city

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A colourful floor

The two churches

A symbol for the town

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The disastrous earthquake

The interior and its masterpieces

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

A new site for a new city

The Baroque town by the sea

A talking palace

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Some prestigious works

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

A small room with a golden entrance

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Some masterpieces

Prominent façade

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

The city of museums

One city, three sites

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Two illustrious patron saints

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Maiolica of the staircase

A city in colour

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Discovering the mother church

A prominent church

Searching for colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A triumph of colour

A half-Baroque church

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)