![]() ![]() On the right, above Piazza Immacolata, the Church of San Francesco all’Immacolata rises at the top of an imposing staircase. ![]() Let’s enjoy a walk: it’s very pleasant to stroll up and down the main street Corso Vittorio Emanuele. As the sun goes down you will notice how the warm colour of the buildings stands out in the light of the sunset, creating an atmosphere that captures your heart. It is a very particular kind of limestone due to its adaptability and that is why it was chosen, to allow the elaborate cut of the monuments and because it radiates a strong light at the same time. This royal gateway was also built with the characteristic golden yellow limestone used for the construction of the city’s churches and palaces. If we look up we can observe three symbolic sculptures on top of it: a crenelated tower representing power, a dog, symbolising loyalty, and a pelican in the centre to represent sacrifice. In 1838 Ferdinand of Bourbon did the same when he inaugurated the monument. We enter the city from the east, passing under the Triumphal Arch that will introduce us to Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the heart of Noto. While living and working in the province, these three different figures gave the city an original imprint that goes beyond the rigid Baroque language, enriching it with Renaissance, Spanish and neoclassical elements and giving life to an imaginative and faintly dreamy style. The architectural history of the new city was dominated by the artistic flair of the three architects Rosario Gagliardi, Vincenzo Sinatra and Paolo Labisi, who were able to develop an amazing masterpiece of architectural unity. The history of Noto has been marked by events caused by nature as well as by people: indeed, in 1693 it was destroyed by an earthquake that struck the whole of south-eastern Sicily.Ĭonceived as a large theatre without a backstage, and as a free and open city, Noto rose again, sumptuous and superb. After two centuries of Muslim rule, in 1090 Noto negotiated a surrender to Roger. It took its current name after it was conquered by the Arabs, who turned it into a heavily armed stronghold, and it became the capital of one of the three valleys into which they divided Sicily, namely Val di Noto. Having fallen under Roman rule as a federated city, in the imperial era it was declared a Latin municipium: this was a specific arrangement that gave the city considerable privileges, including that of being able to govern itself with its own laws.
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