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).

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

A square as the heart of the city

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A new site for a new church

Feast days

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A triumph of colour

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Norman apses

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The disastrous earthquake

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The interior and its masterpieces

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

The Burgos crucifix

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Staircase of Angels

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A colourful floor

Wonderful quick decorations

A hall for the feasts

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A miniature city

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A small room with a golden entrance

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Maiolica of the staircase

The colours of the cathedral

One city, two sites

A symbol for the town

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A feast only for Scicli

Prominent façade

New roads for Catania

The internal colours

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

One city, three sites

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The chocolate of Modica

Searching for colour

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

From International Gothic to present day

The theatre of taste

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Two illustrious patron saints

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A city in colour

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A majestic and luminous church

Between white and black

The church of Carmine

The Baroque town by the sea

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Some prestigious works

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

An eagle-shaped city

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

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

A half-Baroque church

Many owners, one palace

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The city of museums

The two churches

Discovering the mother church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A museum to save a tradition

The wall comes to life

A long reconstruction

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Some masterpieces

A talking palace