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 church of Carmine

A talking palace

A symbol for the town

A feast only for Scicli

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new site for a new city

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The wall comes to life

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Many owners, one palace

The two churches

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

A city in colour

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A small room with a golden entrance

A square as the heart of the city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

One city, two sites

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Modica, a city with ancient origins

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The theatre of taste

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The city of museums

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Wonderful quick decorations

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A half-Baroque church

A majestic and luminous church

The Maiolica of the staircase

A museum to save a tradition

Prominent façade

The Burgos crucifix

A colourful floor

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

From International Gothic to present day

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Baroque town by the sea

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new site for a new church

The interior and its masterpieces

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Between white and black

Norman apses

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Some masterpieces

The colours of the cathedral

A long reconstruction

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A triumph of colour

Feast days

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

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The chocolate of Modica

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A miniature city

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Searching for colour

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The internal colours

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

Some prestigious works

An eagle-shaped city

A prominent church

The Staircase of Angels

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

Discovering the mother church

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The disastrous earthquake

Two illustrious patron saints

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto