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

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A new site for a new church

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The chocolate of Modica

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

The interior and its masterpieces

Discovering the mother church

The theatre of taste

A small room with a golden entrance

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

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A symbol for the town

Many owners, one palace

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A colourful floor

Two illustrious patron saints

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The wall comes to life

Feast days

Some masterpieces

New roads for Catania

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Burgos crucifix

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The church of Carmine

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A new site for a new city

Some prestigious works

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Wonderful quick decorations

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A half-Baroque church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A square as the heart of the city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

An eagle-shaped city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A miniature city

One city, three sites

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Searching for colour

The disastrous earthquake

The Staircase of Angels

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A talking palace

From International Gothic to present day

The colours of the cathedral

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Between white and black

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

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Baroque town by the sea

The city of museums

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

A triumph of colour

The internal colours

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

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A city in colour

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Prominent façade

The two churches

A prominent church

One city, two sites

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A hall for the feasts

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A long reconstruction