Noto ( scn, Notu; la, Netum) is a city and in the

Province of Syracuse The Province of Syracuse ( it, provincia di Siracusa; scn, pruvincia di Sarausa) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital was the city of Syracuse, a town established by Greek colonists arriving from Corinth ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, Italy. It is southwest of the city of

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy * Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' * Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

at the foot of the Iblean Mountains. It lends its name to the surrounding area Val di Noto. In 2002 Noto and its church were declared a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

Etymology

Noto is regarded as having a possible

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

etymology. Likely, the name is derived from "south" (Greek: Νότιο Πήλιο), as in Notion and Notio Aigaio.

History

The old town, Noto Antica, lies directly north on

Mount Alveria Mount Alveria is a mountain located in the Province of Siracusa, south-eastern Sicily, Italy. History This mountainside has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The Elymians lived there before the 10th century B.C. They were followed by the ...

. A city of Sicel origin, it was known as

Netum Netum or Neetum (Greek: ), was a considerable ancient town in the south of Sicily, near the sources of the little river Asinarus (modern Falconara), and about 34 km southwest of Syracuse. Its current site is at the ''località'' of Noto An ...

in ancient times. In 263 BCE the city was granted to

Hiero II Hiero II ( el, Ἱέρων Β΄; c. 308 BC – 215 BC) was the Greek tyrant of Syracuse from 275 to 215 BC, and the illegitimate son of a Syracusan noble, Hierocles, who claimed descent from Gelon. He was a former general of Pyrrhus of Epirus an ...

by the Romans. According to legend,

Daedalus In Greek mythology, Daedalus (, ; Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin: ''Daedalus''; Etruscan: ''Taitale'') was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. He is the father of Icarus, the uncle of Perdi ...

stayed in the city after his flight over the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including ...

, as did

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

after his seventh task. During the Roman era, it opposed the magistrate

Verres Gaius Verres (c. 120–43 BC) was a Roman magistrate, notorious for his misgovernment of Sicily. His extortion of local farmers and plundering of temples led to his prosecution by Cicero, whose accusations were so devastating that his defence adv ...

In 866 it was conquered by the Muslims, who elevated the city to become a capital of one of the three districts of the island (the Val di Noto). In 1091, it became the last Islamic stronghold in Sicily to fall to the Christians. Later it became a rich Norman city. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the city was home to several notable intellectual figures, including

Giovanni Aurispa Giovanni Aurispa Piciunerio (or Piciuneri) (June/July 1376–c. 25 May 1459) was an Italian historian and savant of the 15th century. He is remembered in particular as a promoter of the revival of the study of Greek in Italy. It is to Aurispa that ...

, jurists Andrea Barbazio and Antonio Corsetto, as well as architect Matteo Carnelivari and composer Mario Capuana. In 1503 King Ferdinand III granted it the title of ''civitas ingeniosa'' ("Ingenious City"). In the following centuries, the city expanded, growing beyond its medieval limits, and new buildings, churches and convents were built. The medieval town of Noto was virtually razed by the 1693 Sicilian earthquake. Over half the population is said to have died from the earthquake. It was decided to rebuild the town at the present site, on the left bank of the River Asinaro, closer to the Ionian shore. These circumstances have led this town to have a unique architectural homogeneity since the core of the town was all built over the next decades after the calamity in what is a typical and highly preserved example of Sicilian baroque. The layout followed a grid system by Giovanni Battista Landolina and utilized the sloping hillside for scenographic effects. The architects Rosario Gagliardi, Francesco Sortino and others each participated in designing multiple structures. The town was dubbed the "Stone Garden" by

Cesare Brandi Cesare Brandi (Siena, 8 April 1906 – Vignano, 19 January 1988) was an art critic and historian, specialist in conservation-restoration theory. In 1939 he became the first director of the ''Istituto Centrale per il Restauro'' (Central Institute ...

and is currently listed among

World Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. Many of the newer structures are built of a soft

tufa Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits, which are known as travertin ...

stone, which assumes a honey tonality under sunlight. Parts of the cathedral, however, unexpectedly collapsed in 1996. The city, which had lost its provincial capital status in 1817, rebelled against the

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spani ...

on 16 May 1860, leaving its gates open to

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pa ...

and his expedition. Five months later, on 21 October, a plebiscite sealed the annexation of Noto to

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. In 1844, Noto was named a

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...

, but in 1866 suffered the abolition of the religious guilds, which had been deeply linked to the city's structures and buildings. Noto was freed from the fascist dictatorship of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

in July 1943. The Notinesi people voted in favour of the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic ( constitutional monar ...

in the referendum of 1946.

Main sights

Noto is famous for its buildings from the early 18th century, many of which are considered to be among the finest examples of Sicilian baroque style. It is a place of many religious buildings and several palaces.

Palazzi and other buildings

*Palazzo Ducezio, the current town hall. Designed by

Vincenzo Sinatra Vincenzo Sinatra (1720, Noto – 1765) was a Sicilian architect. He was a pupil of Rosario Gagliardi. Sinatra worked in both the Baroque style and later in Neo-Classical style. Following the 1693 earthquake, the city of Noto was completely ...

, it houses neo-classical style

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plast ...

s by Antonio Mazza. *Palazzo Astuto. *Palazzo di Villadorata on ''via Nicolaci'' which was built by P. Labisi in 1733. *Palazzo di Lorenzo del Castelluccio *Town Library

Religious buildings

Noto Cathedral Noto Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Noto; La Chiesa Madre di San Nicolò) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Noto in Sicily, Italy. Its construction, in the style of the Sicilian Baroque, began in the early 18th century and was completed in 1776. It ...

(''Cattedrale di San Nicolò di Mira'', finished in 1776) *'' Santa Agata'' church *'' Sant'Andrea Apostolo'' church *''Anime Sante del Purgatorio'' ("Holy Souls of the Purgatory") church *'' Annunziata'' church *''Sant'Antonio Abate'' church *'' Santa Caterina'' church *'' Santa Chiara'' church, with a precious ''Madonna'' (by

Antonello Gagini Antonello Gagini (1478–1536) was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance, mainly active in Sicily and Calabria. Antonello belonged to a family of sculptors and artisans, originally from Northern Italy, but active throughout Italy, including Ge ...

), and Benedictine monastery, *Church of ''San Francesco d'Assisi'' (''Immacolata'') *''

San Carlo al Corso Sant'Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso (usually known simply as ''San Carlo al Corso'') is a basilica church in Rome, Italy, facing onto the central part of the Via del Corso. The apse of the church faces across the street, the Mausoleum of Augustus o ...

'' church, designed by Rosario Gagliardi *''Collegio di San Carlo'' church *''San Corrado'' church *''Santissimo Crocifisso'' church *''Crociferio di San Camillo'' church *'' San Domenico'' church by Rosario Gagliardi *''Ecce Homo'' church *''Sant'Egidio Vescovo'' church *'' San Girolamo'' church also known as ''Chiesa di Montevergine'' *'' Santa Maria dell'Arco'': church and former Cistercian monastery, founded in 1212 under the patronage of Count Isimberto or Isemberto di Morengia and is wife Sara The church moved from Arco to the old Noto, then after 1693 to the new Noto. Church designed by Rosario Gagliardi. The monastery was closed by 1789, and little remains of the original structure. *''Santa Maria del Carmelo'' church *''Santa Maria del Gesù'' church *''Santa Maria della Rotonda'' church *''Santa Maria della Scala'' church *''San Michele Arcangelo'' church *''San Nicola di Mira'' church *''Sacro Nome di Gesu'' church *''San Pietro Martire'' church *''San Pietro delle Rose'' (Saints Peter and Paul) church *''Santissimo Salvatore'' church *'' Santissimo Salvatore'': church and benedictine convent (1735), designed by Gagliardi. It has an oval plant, the interior divided by twelve columns housing a ''Madonna with Child'' from the 16th century *''Spirito Santo'' church *''Santissima Trinità'' church

Archaeological sites

The remains of Noto's ancient structures are almost entirely hidden beneath the ruins of the mediaeval town, except for three chambers cut into the rock. One is noted by an inscription in the library at Noto to have belonged to a gymnasium, while the other two were ''heroa'' (shrines of heroes). Explorations have discovered four cemeteries dating to the third Sicel period and one from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

period. Among other finds are

catacomb Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...

s of the Christian period and several

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

tombs. About south of Noto, on the left bank of the Tellaro (Helorus) river, stands a stone column about high, which is believed to be a memorial to the surrender of Nicias. In the 3rd century BC, a tomb was excavated in the rectangular area which surrounds it, destroying an apparently pre-existing tomb. Remnants of a later burial site belonging to the necropolis of the small town of

Helorus Helorus, Heloros, Helorum, or Elorus (Greek: or , Ptol., Steph. B. or , Scyl.; it, Eloro), was an ancient Greek city of Sicily, situated near the east coast, about 40 km south of Syracuse and on the banks of the river of the same name. ...

, to the southeast, have been discovered. The Villa Romana del Tellaro is a

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Typology and distribution Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...

located south of Noto.

Culture

In the Noto neighbourhood, a 32-m radiotelescope was installed by the Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna as part of the

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche The National Research Council (Italian: ''Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, CNR'') is the largest research council in Italy. As a public organisation, its remit is to support scientific and technological research. Its headquarters are in Ro ...

. It works in collaboration with a similar instrument in Medicina,

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

. The city has held an annual flower festival, the Infiorata, every May since the 1980s, lining the Corrado Nicolaci with floral mosaics. One episode of the movie ''

L'Avventura ''L'Avventura'' ( en, "The Adventure") is a 1960 Italian drama film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. Developed from a story by Antonioni with co-writers Elio Bartolini and Tonino Guerra, the film is about the disappearance of a young woman ...

'' (1960) directed by

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni (, ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian filmmaker. He is best known for directing his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and ''L'Eclisse'' (1962 ...

was shot in Noto and features views of its cathedral and square.

Economy

The local area is home to several quality wine producers.

Gallery

Image:Noto 2008 IMG 1442.jpg, Theatre File:Noto, duomo 03.1.JPG, Noto Cathedral Image:San domenico church01.jpg, Church of San Domenico File:Noto 2008 IMG 1392.jpg, Church of St. Charles Borromeo Image:Noto 2008 IMG 1384.jpg, Church of San Francesco all'Immacolata Image:Chiesa del Carmine a Noto.JPG, Image:Noto flickr01.jpg, Arch Image:Noto 2008 IMG 1372.jpg, Church of the Santissimo Crocifisso Image:Noto, chiesa di santa chiara.JPG, Church of Santa Chiara Image:Via Nicolaci Noto-pjt.jpg,

References

*''Sicily and Its Islands'', 2004 - Ugo La Rosa editore

External links

Noto in Sicily

Webcam on Cathedral of San NicolòIl Portale su NotoAccommodation Center of Noto
* {{Authority control Coastal towns in Sicily Municipalities of the Province of Syracuse Sicilian Baroque Wine regions of Italy World Heritage Sites in Italy