• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Italian Blog

Unconventional Italy

  • Home
  • Art & Culture
  • Eat & Drink
  • Places
    • North Italy
      • Liguria
      • Lombardia
      • Piemonte
      • Valle d’Aosta
      • Veneto
    • Central Italy
      • Lazio
      • Toscana
    • South Italy
      • Basilicata
      • Campania
      • Sicilia
  • Travel Tips
  • Save Money
  • About
Home » Visit » One day in Noto, an enchanting Baroque city in Sicily

One day in Noto, an enchanting Baroque city in Sicily

24 August 2017 by Lori 1 Comment

Noto is the first biggest municipality in Sicily and the fourth in Italy. With its 26,000 inhabitants, this little city in the Province of Siracusa has an interesting historic centre. Discover its amazing noble palaces, churches and statues, everything made with a particular yellow stone, typical of this area.

Views in the city centre
Views in the city centre

Noto, a village in the Province of Siracura

Noto is located near the municipality of Pachino, famous for a tomato that is grown on the sand. It is close to Avola, renowned for its almonds production, and Modica, famous for the chocolate as well as other interesting ancient cities like Ispica.

How to visit it

If you decide to visit Noto, I suggest you spend a day and visit the heart of Noto by taking a stroll in Main Street, Corso Vittorio Emanuele. Here you will find the Cathedral dedicated to Saint Nicolò. In the typical yellowish stone that is produced here, it is a landmark of many Sicilian cities like Ragusa Ibla or Caltagirone.

The Cathedral dedicated to Saint Nicolò
The Cathedral dedicated to Saint Nicolò

Right in front of the Cathedral, stands another beautiful Palace, the Municipio, as we call the Town Hall.

Municipio
Municipio

Sometimes, the stairs of the Cathedral become the stall area for concerts and exhibitions. In this case, the stage is placed right in front of the Town Hall, which becomes a great background for the show.

The amazing Palazzo Nicolaci

In Via Nicolaci, a cross street of Corso Vittorio Emanuele, you will find Palazzo Nicolaci. The Palace once belonged to a famous and noble family of Noto and now is owned by the Municipality. The visit costs 4 euros per person. You will receive some pieces of information from a guide and also a little brochure to read, which you shall give back at the end of the visit. The visit takes a minimum of one hour. The palace is really beautiful and you can also enjoy the view from its balconies.

Noto should be visited during the “Infiorata” in the middle of May. During this event, which celebrates the flower blossoming, one of the descending cross streets of Corso Vittorio Emanuele is fully covered with flowers.

Ferragosto, one of the main festivities

Here is what I saw on the occasion of Ferragosto, the celebration of August 15, with the streets covered with coloured salt.

A temporary "painting" made of salt
A temporary “painting” made of salt

The street is parallel to that of Infiorata. The effect is quite similar, but of course, with flowers, more spectacular.

Do not forget the Natural Reserve

If you want to go to the seaside, you can easily reach the Lido of Noto, but also the Natural Reserve of Vendicari with the beach of Cala Mosche. 

The beach of Cala Mosche
The beach of Cala Mosche

Before leaving Noto, remember to try its delicacies at Caffè Sicilia. And if you want to try traditional dishes, I suggest Dammuso, not cheap but worth a dinner.

facebookShare on Facebook
TwitterTweet
PinterestSave

You may also Like:

Visit the lovely Catania, a city full of legends and myths main square in TaorminaTaormina: Everything you need to know to visit it TurinWhy is Turin famous? Discover the new ESC host city.

Filed Under: All Categories, Sicilia, Visit Tagged With: art, baroque, modica, natural reserve, Nicolaci, noble, noto, palace, Palazzo Nicolaci, Ragusa i la, San Nicolò, sicily, south italy, vendicari, visit

Previous Post: « Bar Iudica e Trieste: Your Ultimate Destination in Caltagirone for Unforgettable Delights
Next Post: Grano Frutta e Farina: a lovely bakery in Rome you cannot miss! »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Click on the map to see the related posts

Follow us!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe the newsletter and Get the Beta version of the shopping file with factory outlets and shops at discounted prices!

Please check your incoming mail or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Hi, my name is Lori. I'm 100% Italian. In this blog I will share secret places to visit, tips on how to save money visiting my country and how to experience the Bel Paese just like an Italian. Read More…

Footer

Links & disclosure on this site

All links on this site are published at my editorial discretion. Requests for links alongside samples will be refused, and links alongside brand mentions are not guaranteed, or may be for brand affiliate programes. Where payment or product has been received links will be attributed nofollow and full disclosure will be made. Requests to edit links may result in the content being removed completely.

GDPR Compliance

Copyright © 2025 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy