Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

sight
A panorama over Noto

The terrace of Santa Chiara will take your breath away! Partly because of all the stairs you have to climb, but more so for the spectacular view.
The whole city of Noto is below you, where infinite shades of colours embellish the landscape.
The green of the trees and surrounding hills; the blue of the sea that shines brightly in the distance, illuminated by the sun like a carpet of diamonds; and the golden cathedral of San Nicolò whose façade and round dome can be seen. A show of lights and colours!vista dalla terrazza di Santa Chiara

touch
The warm stucco

The gilded stuccoes on the ceiling of Santa Chiara (St. Claire) shine in the sunlight.
To the touch they will always be warmer than any other cold marble statue or sculpture, which are unable to retain heat.
Like stucco, wood will also always be warmer than this precious and ice-cold stone.

hearing
A gentle song

The nuns’singing was remarkable.
During religious services the church was filled with sweet voices and gentle songs alternating with delicate prayers.
If you return to the 18th century in your mind you can still hear the engrossed nuns singing Gloria del Signore (Glory of the Lord).

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A small room with a golden entrance

A prominent church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

One city, three sites

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A museum to save a tradition

Between white and black

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Discovering the mother church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The chocolate of Modica

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

An eagle-shaped city

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The city of museums

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

A feast only for Scicli

A new site for a new church

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Some masterpieces

A square as the heart of the city

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Burgos crucifix

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A miniature city

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A colourful floor

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A majestic and luminous church

The theatre of taste

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Many owners, one palace

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

A half-Baroque church

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

Two illustrious patron saints

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

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

A symbol for the town

The Staircase of Angels

Norman apses

Prominent façade

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

One city, two sites

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A triumph of colour

The Baroque town by the sea

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Searching for colour

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A hall for the feasts

The internal colours

The colours of the cathedral

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A talking palace

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Wonderful quick decorations

The two churches

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The church of Carmine

A city in colour

New roads for Catania

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A new site for a new city

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation