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 triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Searching for colour

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A small room with a golden entrance

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Burgos crucifix

The city of museums

Wonderful quick decorations

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The façade used as a puppet theatre

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A feast only for Scicli

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Prominent façade

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A new site for a new church

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

From International Gothic to present day

The theatre of taste

The interior and its masterpieces

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The wall comes to life

Discovering the mother church

A half-Baroque church

A colourful floor

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

The internal colours

One city, three sites

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

The Staircase of Angels

Some prestigious works

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

The disastrous earthquake

Between white and black

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

An eagle-shaped city

Two illustrious patron saints

Some masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A majestic and luminous church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

Many owners, one palace

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

A new site for a new city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Norman apses

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

A talking palace

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A long reconstruction

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

One city, two sites

The church of Carmine

The colours of the cathedral

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A hall for the feasts

A symbol for the town

New roads for Catania

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A prominent church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A city in colour

The Baroque town by the sea

A miniature city

The two churches

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!