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).

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Wonderful quick decorations

A triumph of colour

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A majestic and luminous church

A symbol for the town

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

An eagle-shaped city

Some masterpieces

The two churches

A museum to save a tradition

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

A talking palace

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Searching for colour

A square as the heart of the city

A feast only for Scicli

A new site for a new church

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A city in colour

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

Between white and black

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The disastrous earthquake

New roads for Catania

The internal colours

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

A colourful floor

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Two illustrious patron saints

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Burgos crucifix

A small room with a golden entrance

Feast days

Prominent façade

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A miniature city

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

One city, two sites

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The Staircase of Angels

The colours of the cathedral

The chocolate of Modica

Norman apses

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A new site for a new city

The interior and its masterpieces

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

One city, three sites

The Maiolica of the staircase

A prominent church

The Baroque town by the sea

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Some prestigious works

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The city of museums

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The theatre of taste

A hall for the feasts

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

From International Gothic to present day

Discovering the mother church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Feasting in Palazzolo

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The church of Carmine

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci