What to see in Noto, history and itinerary on foot to visit the places that make this town an authentic masterpiece of Sicilian Baroque.
Tourist information
A town in Sicily in the province of Syracuse, Noto has been declared a European Baroque capital by UNESCO.
The art historian Cesare Brandi loved to call it a stone garden, as it was built and harmoniously carved using the soft white local stone, which the action of time has made golden with pink shades.
Noto, as it appears today, is the result of a reconstruction that took place after the destruction of the city, caused by the disastrous earthquake of 1693.
After this event, Giuseppe Lanza Duke of Camastra, appointed vicar general of the Val di Noto, decided to revive the city of Noto in a larger place, located 8 km further downstream, on the slope of Monte Meti.
Various personalities took part in the construction of the city plan, including the Jesuit between Angelo Italia, the military architect Giuseppe Formenti, the Dutch military engineer Carlos de Grunenbergh and the Netino mathematician Giovanni Battista Landolina.
What see
Local artists and ingenious architects, such as Paolo Labisi, Rosario Gagliardi, Vincenzo Sinatra and Antonio Mazza, took care of the construction of churches, convents and noble palaces, creating a superb setting through the study of finishes and decorations, such as the bellied wrought iron balconies , the putti and the big masks, connecting squares and stairways in magnificent perspective games.
The Cathedral of Noto, which was begun and completed in about ten years, between 1694 and 1703, is a magnificent example of Sicilian Baroque.
Numerous works of art are preserved within three naves, including the silver urn containing the relics of San Corrado Confalonieri.
