Noto

Noto Antica was an important city during ancient times. At its height, during the Arabic period, it was actually the capital city of one of the three administrative districts of Sicily. Then, in 1693, tragedy struck as the entire city was destroyed by a significant earthquake which also killed 1000’s of its inhabitants. Faced with the choice of rebuilding what was essentially a massive graveyard, the few remaining residents relocated to the current city of Noto some 8 km (5 miles) to the south. The resulting, planned city is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site as one of the finest existing examples of the Sicilian Baroque style. I’m not a huge fan of baroque. In fact, I’m fond of saying, “If it’s Baroque, you should fix it”. But, seeing all of the buildings together is quite impressive.

The main administrative building is directly across from the duomo on the main street through town.

Looking uphill along a side street.

Once feature of this style is balconies such as the ones shown on the buildings lining the main street.

Many balconies are supported by interesting and intricate figures such as the grotesque faces in the picture below.

A fountain in a small piazza off the main drag.

Finally, we have Amy, gelato in hand, in front of the duomo. Sicily is renowned for its gelato and the weather was pleasant enough during our travels for gelato to be consumed. Then again, even if the weather isn’t great, Amy and I have been known to enthusiastically dig into a cone or cup.