We are in the area of Val di Noto in the extreme tip of Sicily which boasts of an incredible concentration of UNESCO cultural heritage and where the cultural and historical assets goes hand in hand with the variety of natural landscapes.
Here the yellow is the dominant colour: that can be found in the stone monuments, in the beach sand and sun rays that “kiss” the earth.
Val di Noto, bathed by the waters of the Ionian and the Mediterranean Seas, includes the south-eastern part of Sicily, between Dittaino and Simeto rivers to the north and the Salty river to the west. The area, which name refers to one of the most influential cities of the island in the Middle Ages, includes the territories of two entire provinces, Siracusa and Ragusa, and the provinces of Catania, Enna and Caltanissetta.
The monumental richness of the Val di Noto is engaged in a landscape of rare beauty that, from the “Monti Iblei” to the wavy lines of Erei, surprises for his landscapes’ variety, colours and sensations. Through the infinite network of stone walls, rising and falling between the quarries and the plateaus of the Iblei, we understand how strong the human contribution in transformation of these places was. And still the sea, which infinite shades of blue of the Maddalena peninsula and the turquoise waters of Vendicari Reserve can emmarvel even the most sophisticated travellers.
The many different civilizations changed one another over the centuries and, not least, the multifaceted and never monotonous landscape turned this part of Sicily in a big treasury of various cultural and environmental objects. Not surprisingly, the Val di Noto boasts of a high concentration of sites included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, such as Syracuse, the ancient necropolis of Pantalica and the late Baroque towns of Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Noto, Palazzolo Acreide, Caltagirone, Militello in Val di Catania and Catania.
This area was densely frequented as early as the pre and proto-historical period, as the evocative necropolis in artificial caves excavated on the steep rocky walls of Cava d'Ispica and Pantalica. From the eighth century BC, the entire eastern area of Sicily and, in particular the south-east, was adestination for settlers from Greece, who founded such cities as Catania, Lentini, Hyblaea Megara, Syracuse and Kamarina, and brought their lifestyle and architecture with them. From the Syracuse temples to the Lentini walls, from the Akrai and Morgantina theatres to the urban facilities of Megara Hyblaea and Kamarina, the exhibits of Greek architects and town planners is still there to witness the grandeur of an extraordinary époque.
Among the ancient remains of the classical world, one cannot overlook, what had been left by the Romans in Syracuse, Catania, Piazza Armerina and the Noto countryside: where theatres, amphitheatres and rich villas with mosaics remember that Sicily, further to have been the first province founded by Rome, also serve as its barn for many centuries. Until the Arab conquest of Sicily, the south-eastern part of the island played a central role in the Mediterranean. Syracuse, which vast territory was inhabited in the Roman imperial age by the early Christian communities of the West, was for few years, during the seventh century A.D., the Byzantine emperor's headquarter. To this long period belong the many burial tombs scattered along the quarries Iblei, as well as the entire cities such as Cittadella dei Maccari and Kaukana.
During the late medieval period, the Val di Noto, despite losing its political magnitude to Western Sicily, still remained the seat of important feudal institutions, such as the Reginale Domain, which had its capital in Syracuse, and the famous County of Modica, a real Regnum in the Kingdom. This made a considerable impact on the construction of impressive civil and religious buildings, taking up the Gothic lines of the Swabian castles of Syracuse, Augusta, Catania and Lentini and growing palatial Catalan architectural styles.
However, the immense classical and medieval architectural heritage of south-eastern Sicily suffered serious damage in 1693. Between 9 and 11 January of that year, a series of telluric upheaval shook the whole Val di Noto, causing around 60,000 deaths and destroying most of the settlements the then. After the earthquake, the surviving population of Avola, Noto, Modica, Ragusa, Siracusa, Catania and other major urban centers recovered, building its settlements into the new sites or rebuilding on the same point according to the original medieval urban plots. To do so, local brilliant architects and simple builders, as well foreign experts who, brought their French, German and Austrian house building experience, realized the new city according to the European architectural fashion of the moment, the late-baroque. So the late Baroque towns of Val di Noto re-emerged even more radiant than before, recognized in 2002 by UNESCO as “considerable collective undertaking, brought successfully to a high level of architecture and artistic fulfilment”.
Finally, it is unforgivable to speak of the Val di Noto, without making a brief reference to some of its gourmet products - following the infinite range of colours, ranging from the Cerasuolo di Vittoria ruby red to the beaming of the Pachino tomatos, from Red-Black purplish d'Avola, to the brown of the tuna caught in the Ionian Sea; from the green gold of the Hyblean Mountains oil, to the amber honey of Sortino; from the intense yellow cheese from Ragusa, to the whiteness of the Almond of Avola heart. Finally, the thousands of the confectionary colours, from Syracuse to Ragusa offered by the chocolatiers of Modica, festively illuminate the counters of pastries and coffee of this incredible land.
