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 façade used as a puppet theatre

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The colours of the cathedral

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

A prominent church

Two illustrious patron saints

A new site for a new city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Some masterpieces

Between white and black

The chocolate of Modica

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

Feast days

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The city of museums

The internal colours

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A half-Baroque church

The disastrous earthquake

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A city in colour

A museum to save a tradition

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

An eagle-shaped city

A small room with a golden entrance

The church of Carmine

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Staircase of Angels

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Prominent façade

The theatre of taste

Searching for colour

Discovering the mother church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Burgos crucifix

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

New roads for Catania

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A colourful floor

A talking palace

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A long reconstruction

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Feasting in Palazzolo

A feast only for Scicli

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

A symbol for the town

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A hall for the feasts

A majestic and luminous church

A miniature city

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

Wonderful quick decorations

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The interior and its masterpieces

Norman apses

The Baroque town by the sea

The wall comes to life

From International Gothic to present day

One city, two sites

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

One city, three sites

A triumph of colour

Many owners, one palace

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The two churches