Noto (; ) is a city and in the

Province of Syracuse The province of Syracuse (; ) was a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy. Its capital was the city of Syracuse, Sicily, Syracuse, a town established by Greeks, Greek colonists arriving from Corinth in the ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, Italy. It is southwest of the city of

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

at the foot of the

Iblean Mountains The Hyblaean Mountains (; ; ) is a mountain range in south-eastern Sicily, Italy. It straddles the provinces of province of Ragusa, Ragusa, province of Siracusa, Syracuse and province of Catania, Catania. The highest peak of the range is Monte L ...

. It lends its name to the surrounding area

Val di Noto Val di Noto () is a historical and geographical area encompassing the south-eastern third of Sicily; it is dominated by the limestone Hyblaean plateau. Historically, it was one of the three valli of Sicily. History The oldest recorded settlemen ...

. In 2002 Noto and its church were declared a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

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 classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

etymology. Likely, the name is derived from "south" (Greek: Νότιο ''Notio''), as in

Notion Notion or Notions may refer to: Software * Notion (music software), a music composition and performance program * Notion (productivity software), a note-taking and project-management program from Notion Labs, Inc. * Notion (window manager), the ...

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 The Sicels ( ; or ''Siculī'') were an Indo-European tribe who inhabited eastern Sicily, their namesake, during the Iron Age. They spoke the Siculian language. After the defeat of the Sicels at the Battle of Nomae in 450 BC and the death of ...

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 ...

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

Hiero II Hiero II (; also Hieron ; ; c. 308 BC – 215 BC) was the Greek tyrant of Syracuse, Greek Sicily, 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 o ...

by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

. According to legend,

Daedalus In Greek mythology, Daedalus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin language, Latin: ''Daedalus''; Etruscan language, Etruscan: ''Taitale'') was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. H ...

stayed in the city after his flight over the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) 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 Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...

, 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 Gr ...

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

Verres Gaius Verres ( 114 – 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 advo ...

In 866, the Muslims conquered the city and named it ''Nawṭis'', elevating it to the capital of one of Sicily’s three districts, the Val di Noto. It remained an important Islamic stronghold until 1091, when it became the last city in Sicily to fall to the Christians.

Jordan of Hauteville Jordan of Hauteville (–1092) was the eldest son and bastard of Roger I of Sicily. A fighter, he took part, from an early age, in the conquests of his father in Sicily. Jordan is named as son of Count Roger's first marriage in ''Europäische Stamm ...

, the eldest son of the first Norman Count of Sicily, was made lord of Noto. Under

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

rule, it later flourished as a wealthy and influential 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 Italians, Italian historian and savant of the 15th century. He is remembered in particular as a promoter of the revival of the study of Greek language, Greek in ...

, jurists Andrea Barbazio and Antonio Corsetto, as well as architect Matteo Carnelivari and composer

Mario Capuana Mario Capuana (1576 in Sicily – 4 May 1647 in Noto) was an Italian composer of motets and a requiem. He was ''maestro di capella'' at the Cathedral of Noto in the Province of Syracuse from 1628 to his death in 1647. In the years before and imme ...

. 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 Sicilian Baroque is the distinctive form of Baroque architecture which evolved on the island of Sicily, off the southern coast of Italy, in the , when it was part of the Spanish Empire. The style is recognisable not only by its typical Baroque c ...

. The layout followed a grid system by Giovanni Battista Landolina and utilized the sloping hillside for scenographic effects. The architects

Rosario Gagliardi Rosario Gagliardi (1698–1762) was an Italian architect born in Syracuse. He was one of the leading architects working in the Sicilian Baroque. Despite never leaving Sicily, his work showed great understanding of the style, but was a progression ...

, Francesco Sortino and others each participated in designing multiple structures. The town was dubbed the "Stone Garden" by

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

and is currently listed among

World Heritage Sites World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

. Many of the newer structures are built of a soft

tufa Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitation (chemistry), precipitate out of water in ambient temperature, unheated rivers or lakes. hot spring, Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less ...

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 dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...

on 16 May 1860, leaving its gates open to

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

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

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

. In 1844, Noto was named a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, prov ...

, 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, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

in July 1943 when the town was liberated by British troops under General Bernard Montgomery as part of the opening phase of

Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, the allied mission to liberate Sicily. The Notinesi people voted in favour of the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

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

style. It is a place of many religious buildings and several palaces.

Palazzi and other buildings

Palazzo Ducezio Palazzo Ducezio is the town hall of the town of Noto, in Sicily. History Construction works of the building were started by architect Vincenzo Sinatra in 1746, drawing inspiration from some French palaces of the 17th century. The Palazzo Ducezio ...

, the town hall. Designed by

Vincenzo Sinatra Vincenzo Sinatra (1707 – 1765) was a Sicily, 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 Sicily earthquake, 1693 earthquake, the ci ...

, it houses neo-classical style

fresco Fresco ( 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 plaster, the painting become ...

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 () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Noto, Italy, 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 is dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra, an ...

(''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 Gen ...

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

San Carlo al Corso San Carlo al Corso may refer to: * San Carlo al Corso, Milan, church in Milan, Italy * San Carlo al Corso, Noto, church in Noto, Italy * Sant'Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso Sant'Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso (usually known simply as ''San Carlo al Cors ...

'' church, designed by

*''Collegio di San Carlo'' church *''San Corrado'' church *''Santissimo Crocifisso'' church *''Crociferio di San Camillo'' church *'' San Domenico'' church by

*''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

period and one from the

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

period. Among other finds are

catacomb Catacombs are man-made underground passages primarily used for religious purposes, particularly for burial. Any chamber used as a burial place is considered a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etym ...

s of the Christian period and several

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

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 Nicias (; ; 470–413 BC) was an Athenian politician and general, who was prominent during the Peloponnesian War. A slaveowning member of the Athenian aristocracy, he inherited a large fortune from his father, and had investments in the silv ...

. 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, 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 in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...

located south of Noto.

Nature reserves

Two

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

s can be found near Noto: the Riserva naturale orientata Cavagrande del Cassibile, established in 1990, and the

Riserva naturale orientata Oasi Faunistica di Vendicari The Oasi Faunistica of Vendicari is a nature reserve near the towns of Noto and Pachino in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy. It was established in 1984 and opened to the public in 1989. It extends for . Description The reserve includes a ...

, established in 1984.

Culture

In the Noto neighbourhood, a 32-m radiotelescope was installed by the

Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna The Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna (Institute for Radio Astronomy of Bologna) is one of research facilities of the Italian Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (National Institute for Astrophysics). Staff conduct research in astronomy, physics ...

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 Rome. ...

. It works in collaboration with a similar instrument in

Medicina Medicina ( Bolognese: ; Eastern Bolognese: ) is an Italian ''comune'' with c. 16,000 inhabitants in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, part of the region of Emilia-Romagna. Name The origins of its name (which in Italian means "medicine") are quit ...

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. 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'' () is a 1960 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 ( Lea Massari) during a boat ...

'' (1960) directed by

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

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, Image:Palazzo_Landolina.JPG,

Palazzo Landolina Giovanni Battista Landolina, "Marchese di S. Alfano", was a Sicilian landowner and intellectual (mathematician) instrumental in having the city of Noto removed from its former site on Mount Alveria and rebuilt in a more level location following th ...

References

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

External links

*
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