A jewel of Sicilian Baroque and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Noto (SR) is perched on a high plain dominating the Asinaro valley and owes its beauty to the influence of the many populations who have lived here: Sicels, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs. The town was rebuilt in the 1700s following the earthquake that hit the Noto Valley in 1693.
The ruins of the city walls and the castle bear witness to the medieval city, ancient Neto. The new city was rebuilt in Baroque style with wide, straight avenues alternating with squares where churches and palaces look over grand staircases.
A triumphal arch opens onto corso Vittorio Emanuele, heart of the town. The thoroughfare leads to piazza dell'Immacolata whose church of the same name stands at the top of an imposing staircase. Piazza del municipio is surrounded by four buildings: Church of the Holy Saviour, the Bishops Palace, Palazzo Ducezio, today the town hall, and at the top of a striking staircase, the Cathedral of St. Nicholas. The corso ends at piazza XVI Maggio dominated by the convex façade of the Church of St. Dominic which faces the 18th century Villa d’Ercole, where a fountain featuring a statue of Hercules stands in a basin at the entrance.
The archaeological area outside the city includes the Greek cities of Eloro and Camarina; the Greek theatre of Palazzolo Acreide; the necropolis of Pantalica, also inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the prehistoric village of Castelluccio; and the Roman villa of Tellaro.
Sicilia Film Commission
Via Emanuele Notarbartolo 9 — 90141 Palermo
Phone: +39 091 7078008; +39 091 7078264; +39 091 7078133; +39 091 7078145
Email: filmcommission@regione.sicilia.it
