Noto and Noto Antica

We leave the beautiful gorge here in Sicily Cavagrande del Cassibile and make our way to Noto. We have already heard a lot of good things about this beautiful baroque town. The entire 'Val de Noto' is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In this context, 'Val' does not mean valley, but comes from the Arabic word for administrative unit.

On the way on the SP64 we fill up in Villa Vela our water tanks.

Noto Antica

15km before Noto, we turn off in the direction of Noto Antica. These are the remains of the old town of Noto, which was destroyed by a severe earthquake around 1700. Afterwards, the new town of Noto was built closer to the coast in the Baroque style. This is why there are so many magnificent palaces in Noto.

On the way, we drive past a beautiful lost place, of which there are many here in Sicily. Our hearts always bleed when I see these big, beautiful old buildings falling into ruin. 

Then we come to a very large picnic area with everything your heart desires: water points, barbecue areas, tables and benches. There are even garbage cans here, which are emptied regularly.

Now we are standing in front of the old city gate of Noto Antica. If we hadn't just hiked yesterday, we would do it again right here. There are not only the ruins of ancient Noto to see, but also an impressive gorge Cava Carosello with a river. There are also a few interesting caves, necropolis, on the edge of the gorge.

Santuario Santa Maria Scala del Paradiso

We continue along the gorge towards Noto. The road is good, but very narrow. No two vehicles can pass each other here. We are lucky and nobody comes towards us. Now we come to a small bridge that is limited to 3 tons. It didn't hold it against us that we were a few grams heavier.

After about 3 km, a beautiful baroque building appears out of nowhere in front of us, Santuario Santa Maria Scala del Paradiso. My heart sinks. This pilgrimage church is simply beautiful. That's exactly what our trip is all about.

The old town of Noto

We continue to Noto. We park on the avenue in front of the Porta Reale o Ferdinandea. From here, we stroll along Corso Vittorio Emanuele through the historic town center. And see beautiful large Baroque buildings: the church of San Francesco D'Assisi all'Immacolata with its impressive open staircase, the church of S.S. Salvatore, the cathedral of San Nicoló and opposite Palazzo Ducezio, the seat of the town hall.

Next to Noto Cathedral is Via Nicolacci, a magnificent street with many richly decorated Baroque palaces. The famous Infiorata takes place here every year.

I will spare you a detailed description of these baroque buildings. The pictures speak for themselves. We were particularly impressed by the bronze sculptures by Mitoraj, whom we already know and appreciate from many other vacations in Italy.

Sculptures by Mitoraj

Igor Mitoraj (1944-2014) was a Polish sculptor who lived in France and Italy. His often larger-than-life sculptures can be found in Paris, Rome, Milan, Lausanne, London, Krakow, Scheveningen, The Hague and even in the USA and Japan.

The special thing about it is that the sculptures touch both our souls. People don't always agree about art. These huge works of art are simply fabulous. What makes them so special are the many small details that you only discover at second glance. I've often wondered whether I should explore where his works of art are all over the world. And whether I would go there. But the moment of surprise is overwhelming every time. We saw the last sculpture in Pisa in 2020 in front of the Leaning Tower.

We let it all sink in and take a stroll through the town.

Then we are drawn back to the sea and head towards Vendicari