Venues

Tina di Lorenzo’s Theater

Noto was named capital of the province of Syracuse in 1837. In 1851 the growing taste for the theater induced the mayor of that time, Cav. di Lorenzo and the City Council to accept the proposal of the intendant, Cav. La Rosa to build a new civic theater to be able to respond to the cultural and artistic interests of the city and its inhabitants. In 1855, a citizens’ committee was formed to raise the funds needed to build the new theatre.

A house (Casa Salonia) was purchased in the central square at the expense of the Marquises of Castelluccio. Later the engineer Francesco Sortino was commissioned to design the new building.

When he died in 1863, the direction of works passed to Francesco Cassone. In 1864 the city of Noto undertook to continue the construction work, entrusting the work to the Ruiz company of Syracuse.

The Municipal Theater was named after King Vittorio Emanuele III. It was inaugurated in a solemn ceremony on the evening of December 4, 1870.

From then on, famous artists such as Tina di Lorenzo, Pierantonio Tasca and Eleanore Duse trod that stage. Every year, the Vittorio Emanuele Theater Foundation organizes a theater season worthy of the best cultural containers in all of Italy. It has a capacity of 320 seats.

Nicolaci Palace Of Villadorata

After the restorations that involved the Cathedral of Noto and the mosaics of the Roman villa of Tellaro, the recent restoration of Nicolaci Palace and the consequent opening to the public, it has added another jewel to the Capital of the Baroque, a heritage restored in all its beauty!
The palace of the princess is a symbol that today, brought back to its former glory, gives the dimension of the artistic wealth and opulence of the center of Netino, in a period now in the past. Urban noble residence of the Nicolaci family and (needless to say) in full Baroque style, this building designed by Rosario Gagliardi has 90 rooms. The beginning of the works began in 1720, even if it was completed, with the participation of Gagliardi’s pupil, Vincenzo Sinatra, only in 1765. The main wing of Nicolaci Palace was purchased by the Municipality of Noto in 1983 and was completely recovered thanks to a series of restorations carried out by the Superintendency of Cultural Heritage of Syracuse, under the guidance of the architect Giovanna Susan. In addition to the necessary consolidation of the structure, the interventions were aimed at restoring the apartments, with the remaking of floors, wallpapers, restoration of the paintings and frescoes that decorated all of the rooms on the main floor.

Ducezio Palace and “Sala degli specchi”

Ducezio Palace, seat of the Town Hall, was built around 1760. The hall called Sala degli Specchi, with an oval plan, was enriched with stucco and gold in “Louis XV” style and sumptuous mirrors at the end of the 19th century. At the beginning of the Thirties, on the occasion of the official visit of Umberto and Maria Josè di Savoia, Princes of Piedmont, the salon was restored by the painter Gregorietti. The furniture was made by master Dugo, a craftsman of the Franza company.
The “Sala degli Specchi” is the city’s reception hall, and continues today to host illustrious delegations and prestigious events, such as the Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the eight UNESCO municipalities for the creation of the cultural district.

Landolina Palace of Sant’Alfano

Landolina Palace is a splendid noble palace located right next to the Cathedral of Noto. Built in 1730, it was the summer residence of the Landolinas. This was the oldest and most illustrious family of Noto, which arrived in the city in 1090 with Roger the Norman. They dominated Noto for about eight centuries and were present in all the courts that followed in Sicily. Between 1838 and 1844, King Ferdinand II of Bourbon and Queen Maria Theresa of Austria stayed three times at Landolina Palace. This event was testified by the presence of two marble tombstones, walled up in the entrance staircase. After being damaged during the revolutionary uprisings, they are now exhibited in the Civic Museum of Noto. It is one of the monuments included by Unesco as a World Heritage Site, within the serial site of the Late Baroque Cities of the Val Di Noto.

CUMO

The Eastern Mediterranean University Consortium (C.U.M.O.) is made up of the Municipalities of Noto, Avola, Pachino, Rosolini, Portopalo di Capo Passero, the Pachino Cooperative Credit Bank and the Dominican Cenacolo. The consortium is a non-profit legal entity whose management is subject to the nature of an entity governed by public law. The C.U.M.O. is a consortium founded in 2001. The consortium aims to promote and develop university education and applied research in the south-eastern area of Sicily through the establishment of university training research structures, degree courses, masters and advanced training courses.
The consortium is based on the recognition that education, training and high competence constitute the fundamental elements for the development of our area and even before that these factors represent the tools for the promotion and affirmation of the values and dignity of the ‘man. The consortium is a non-profit legal entity whose management is subject to the nature of a public law body.

Noto Cathedral

The cathedral of San Nicolò is the most important place of Catholic worship in the city of Noto, as well as the bishopric of the diocese of the same name, in Sicily. It is located on the top of a large staircase, on the north side of Piazza Municipio (domus-ecclesiae area), and is dedicated to San Nicolò, bishop of Myra. The construction of the temple began in 1694 and was completed in 1703, the year in which it was opened for worship with a solemn dedication. Over the centuries, however, both the facade and the interior have undergone numerous alterations, which gave it its current appearance only at the end of the 19th century, with the construction of a new dome, the work of Netino Cassone.
The interior, with three naves, houses numerous works of art, some of which come from Noto Antica, including the silver urn containing the mortal remains of San Corrado Confalonieri. On 21 January 2012, Pope Benedict XVI elevated the cathedral to a minor basilica.

The Path of the Churches Of Noto

The visit of the churches of Noto can start from the Piazza del Municipio, where you can admire the Cathedral, the church of the Santissimo Salvatore and, at the corners, the church of Santa Chiara and the church of San Carlo al Corso. On the right side of the Cathedral, closing the square, the church of the Santissimo Salvatore, whose monastery was built by Gagliardi between 1747 and 1755: seat of the Benedictines, shows its main facade along Corso Vittorio Emanuele, opposite the church and to the convent of Santa Chiara (also a work by Gagliardi, dating back to 1748) and next to the church of San Francesco all’Immacolata. The tower-belvedere with superimposed loggias stands out on the complex. The church of San Francesco is preceded by a monumental three-flight staircase and has a magnificent façade accompanied by a bell tower in the shape of a pagoda, both the works are by Gagliardi. Opposite Nicolaci Palace, on the other side of the Corso, is the church of San Carlo, built in the mid-eighteenth century. Continuing in Piazza XVI Maggio we come across the church of San Domenico, with the adjoining convent, a masterpiece by Rosario Gagliardi. Continuing the visit of Noto towards the upper part of the city, you can admire other churches and palaces, such as Palazzo Trigona, Palazzo Impellizzeri, the church of Sant’Agata, the church of Santa Maria di Gesù and finally the church of the Santissimo Crocifisso: at its inside are kept two column-bearing lions from the Roman age and a splendid “Madonna della Neve” by Francesco Laurana (1471), the only signed work of his in Sicily.
During a walk along via Ducezio it is finally possible to discover other churches of Noto, such as the church of Carmine and Santa Maria dell’Arco, marked on the facade by a magnificent portal.