On the small island of Sicily in the Ligurian Sea, there is a city that, born in the 19th century, preserves the memory of ancient history. Not far from modern Noto are the ruins of the old city of Neas. What you need to know about Noto in Sicily? Of course its an amazing story. And also about its sights. After all, all reviews of Noto in Sicily are invariably enthusiastic.
History of old Noto
About a million years ago, at a time when the legendary Troy still existed, on the hill of Mendola, according to other sources, Alveria, the city of Neas was founded by local tribes. Before talking about the history of the city, it is necessary to recall two very famous ancient Greek myths, whose heroes were in Sicily and visited the city. We are talking about Daedalus, who lost his naughty son Icarus during a flight from the island of Crete, fleeing the persecution of King Minos. Icarus crashed, rising too close to the Sun: the wax that held the feathers of his wings together melted. And the inconsolable Daedalus stopped at the old Noto to rest. Hercules was also resting there, returning from the next heroic campaign to the kingdom of Eurystheus.
In the 8th century BC e. nearby, on the same island, another tribe was laid down by Greek tribes - Syracuse. Reached by the 3rd century BC e. the powers of Syracuse captured the neighbor Neas and brought order to it, brought their traditions and beliefs.
During the heyday of the power of the Great Roman Empire, Neas, who came under the power of the Romans, was forced to live by the rules that Rome dictated to him. Moreover, having a federal status, Neas maintained his laws and traditions, which supported his prosperous existence.
At the end of the 8th century, the island of Sicily was subordinated to the Arabs and divided by them into three parts - valleys. And Neas, who received a new name - Noto, became the main stronghold of one of them - Val di Noto, which means "famous wave". At the same time, Noto became a major center for the production and trade of silk. Until now, in Noto in Sicily, the market offers a huge selection of goods, including silk fabrics.
At the beginning of the 11th century, Noto fell under the rule of the Normans. And only at the end of the 11th century was it conquered by the Sicilian ruler Roger I. Under the rule of the Sicilian ruler, the city lasted another six centuries and was destroyed by a terrible earthquake.
Golden Noto - a city in Sicily
"Why golden?" - you ask. And you will be surprised that the connection with real gold is very indirect. Most likely, in this case, gold refers to the high cost and brilliance of Noto's architectural masterpieces. But not dead from the earthquake, but reborn, like a Phoenix from the ashes, a new city 10 km from an old ancient ancestor.
What is the epithet "golden" connected with in the architectural appearance of the city? With a pompous and rich baroque style, in which three amazing Sicilian architects created their creation: Rosario Galliardi, Vincenzo Sinatra, Paolo Labisi. The motifs of the Spanish and Renaissance styles, some elements of ancient and neoclassical architecture are intricately and interwoven into their baroque.
Layout of a new city
“And it’s not at all new,” you say again. And you will be right again. After all, it was built in the 16-17th centuries, which is quite far from our time. But for history, this time is New. And therefore we will consider it.
Three parallel streets cross from west to east Noto - Corso Vittorio Emanuele , via C. Benso di Cavour, via R. Trigona. They were planned by architects to divide the new city into three parts. Favorable and thoughtful location of the streets in terms of their orientation made this corner of Noto sunny. And the local limestone, from which all the houses were built here, seemed to be gilded by the sun.
Corso vittirio emmanuele
This is the name of the main street of the historical center of the "Golden" Noto, which literally translates as "Course Vittorio Emanuele." Who is this very Vittorio Emanuele, whose name is named at least one street or square of any Italian city?
In this case, we are talking about the Sardinian Duke Victor Emmanuel II of the Savoy Dynasty, who became the first king of the united Italy of the second half of the XIX century. In difficult political and economic conditions, he managed to reform and strengthen the Italian army, strengthen ties with France, recapture part of the lands captured by Austria, and later free it from French influence.
Street sections connect large pearls - three squares with churches traditionally located there: Duomo, Cattedrale di San Nicola and la Chiesa di San Francisco on Piazza Minicipio , la Chiesa di San Domenico on Piazza XVI Maggio, la Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi on Piazza Immacolata. The facades of several other famous temples overlook the street: la Chiesa di Santa Chiara, la Chiesa del S. Salvatore , the Jesuit church.
Il palazzo ducezio
The street, named after Victor Emmanuel II, is decorated along its entire length with a constellation of brilliant palace facades. One of them is the Palazzo Ducezio, which now houses the city administration. This is a fairly long two-story building along the facade, divided floor-by-floor into ribbon tiers by a gallery with openwork stone balustrade. The second tier is decorated with ionic pilasters, at the corners performing the task of smoothing the surface, and a half-tonond, and on the roof there is also a stone balustrade. The gallery is based on the arcade of the first floor.
The lower tier of the facade is raised to a high basement of masonry, columns of the ionic order fill the space between the arcades, and a half-tonde of the second tier corresponds to an arcuate arcuate with double columns in the arches.
Il palazzo villadorato
This palace, overlooking the main facade on via Nicolaci, and the front on the Corso Vittirio Emmanuele, was built in 1731 for the princely clan dynasty. The main decoration of the facade are forged bent lattices and stone stucco made of yellow, like the house, sandstone, and interiors - fresco paintings. In total, they decorated 90 rooms of the palace. This palace is often called the "palace with chimeras", because its fancy balconies support stone-carved consoles in the form of images, for some reason called chimeras, although they have human (female and male) or horse, rather than lion's heads, bodies goats, and the tail is not a dragon. The windows and doorway of the building flank the pilasters of the ionic warrant. Stone carved frames on the windows delight the eyes with bizarre baby heads in floral curls.
Il arco trionfale
It is from this arch, Porta Reale, or the Royal Gate, that the main street of the historical Golden Noto begins. Its facade is crowned with the tops of a rectangular tower of a knight's castle with blunt teeth on the top and two sculptures: a pelican and either a dog or a dragon.
The arch was installed here for the ceremonial entry into Noto of King Ferdinand II. Traditionally, the pelican was considered a symbol of fatherly (parental) love, which, obviously, speaks of how the king loves his subjects and takes care of them. The tower of the knight's castle speaks of courage and courage, honor and stability. If we consider the second sculpture as an image of a dog, then we can talk about the loyalty of the king to his people and the laws of the country. Well, if like a dragon, then Christians considered him the personification of the devil, which does not at all correspond to the general idea of erecting an arch.
Via Cavour
No less interesting is the development of another highway of the historical center of Noto in Sicily. Her name is also associated with a completely historical character. And connected, in turn, with Victor-Emmanuel II. We are talking about Count Camillo Benzo di Cavour, a major politician during the reign of Victor Emanuel. It was he who was able to influence the king’s policy aimed at rapprochement with France and strengthening the army and navy. It was he who achieved the participation of Piedmont in the Paris Congress, where he outlined all the problems and difficulties of his land.
Noto: Infiorita
Sicilian Noto is attractive for tourists and connoisseurs of art and traditions not only with its amazing Baroque architecture, but also with holidays - Noto's visiting cards. Thus, the famous all over Italy flower festival Infiorita takes place in the summer, at the height of the flowering of bright and unusual plants. From their flowers they make up not just patterns, but whole pictures and cover this fragrant carpet with one of the central streets - via Nicolaci. Each year, especially for this holiday, new themes for flower paintings are offered and about 400 species of flowering plants are grown. The width of such a carpet is 122 by 6 m. Each picture is surrounded by a frame of myrtle or pistachio leaves, dill and fennel.
The history of the holiday began in 1980, and it is usually held in the penultimate week of May, for three days: from Friday to Sunday. Friday (venerdi) is the day of sketches when contour images for future flower carpets are prepared. On Saturday (in sabato), these forms are filled with fresh flowers. And on Sunday (in domenica) the main action of the festival takes place, the highest point of which is the selection and awarding of winners among floral artists.
Nature Reserve near Noto
An important attraction near Noto in Sicily is the famous Vendicari nature reserve, located between two mountains - Pachino and Avola. The main entrance to its territory is located in the Vendikari tower. From the entrance to the reserve is a path located under the canopy of tall trees. But after a while their protection is left behind, and travelers fall into the open. A vast territory with a swampy pond and thickets of grass and reeds is clearly visible along the sides, and on the left you can see a small one-story stone building, in which the caught tuna - tonar was previously processed.
If you walk along a path among tall grass, you seem to be near the tall tower of Zveva, located among the ancient ruins, on the seashore. It remotely resembles either a fairytale tower, or a lighthouse, or a minaret. This is actually a Spanish watchtower. And next - the remains of poor fishing huts.
Near the ruins on the shore, rocks are piled up and there is a small beach, in some places - stunted vegetation and cacti.
The total area of the park is about 1,500 hectares. Its lakes are the workplace of ornithologists, observing huge numbers of migratory birds, arriving and settling on the lakes of the reserve: flamingos, cormorants, gray herons, plovers, etc. The wildlife of the ecopark is also very rich: foxes, hedgehogs, hares, turtles, a huge amount species of snakes and frogs.
Wendicari is of particular interest to historians and archaeologists, because until now, unique material sources of ancient civilizations of antiquity are found in excavations here. And besides the old watchtower, there is also a villa of the ancient Roman patrician. Its value is especially high, since unique mural mosaics are well preserved in it.
The reserve works daily, from 9 to 19 hours, but entrance to its main part is paid - 3 euros. There is a paid parking lot for cars at the entrance, as cars are not allowed to enter the park. And at the service of vacationers - one of the best restaurants in Noto in Sicily.
Noto for vacationers
And in hot weather it is so pleasant to walk along the alley of ficuses, tightly closing their foliage overhead so that a rare ray of sun penetrates under deciduous arches. It may well become a resting place at the hour of siesta. For lovers of swimming in Noto in Sicily, the beach will delight their guests with excellent service and cleanliness.
In the summer, you can also participate in a carnival procession, where local residents dressed in medieval costumes organize a procession with flags along the streets of the city.
Fans of shopping in Sicily - Noto fairs and shops, which in July-August annually offer branded goods at substantial discounts - up to 80%.