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).

Norman apses

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A talking palace

A majestic and luminous church

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

From International Gothic to present day

A small room with a golden entrance

One city, three sites

Some prestigious works

A half-Baroque church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A feast only for Scicli

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The interior and its masterpieces

Wonderful quick decorations

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The city of museums

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

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A colourful floor

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The disastrous earthquake

Searching for colour

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A symbol for the town

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The colours of the cathedral

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Staircase of Angels

A miniature city

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

One city, two sites

The Baroque town by the sea

A long reconstruction

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Discovering the mother church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The two churches

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Some masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

An eagle-shaped city

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

The chocolate of Modica

The church of Carmine

A new site for a new city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A square as the heart of the city

A prominent church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The internal colours

A city in colour

The façade used as a puppet theatre

New roads for Catania

Many owners, one palace

Feast days

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

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

The theatre of taste

Between white and black

Prominent façade

A museum to save a tradition

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A triumph of colour

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Burgos crucifix

A hall for the feasts