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 wall comes to life

Many owners, one palace

Two illustrious patron saints

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

A prominent church

Some masterpieces

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

Feast days

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Maiolica of the staircase

Prominent façade

Limestone, the colour of harmony

One city, two sites

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A half-Baroque church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Norman apses

A small room with a golden entrance

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A square as the heart of the city

A long reconstruction

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

The colours of the cathedral

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A triumph of colour

A hall for the feasts

Wonderful quick decorations

The theatre of taste

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

An eagle-shaped city

A feast only for Scicli

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A museum to save a tradition

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A symbol for the town

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A city in colour

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The church of Carmine

A new site for a new city

Searching for colour

A talking palace

A new site for a new church

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Feasting in Palazzolo

A majestic and luminous church

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Staircase of Angels

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

A colourful floor

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

From International Gothic to present day

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The two churches

Discovering the mother church

Some prestigious works

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The chocolate of Modica

The internal colours

The city of museums

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A miniature city

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The disastrous earthquake

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

One city, three sites

New roads for Catania

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

The interior and its masterpieces

The Burgos crucifix

The Baroque town by the sea