VAL DI NOTO AREA
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"Val di Noto" (Vallum of Noto) is a geographical area of south-east of Sicily, located among the province of Ragusa, Siracusa and part of the provinces of Catania and Caltanissetta. In this case the word "Val" does not mean "Valley" but "Vallum", the denomination of the administrative units in which the Sicily was divided in Arab-Norman period: together with the "Val di Noto", in fact, there were also the "Val di Mazara" and the "Val Demone", each governed by different regents. In June 2002 UNESCO inscribed eight old towns of the "Val di Noto" on the World Heritage List. They are: Caltagirone, Militello in Val di Catania, Catania, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa and Scicli.
Important is the motivation: "The eight cities of the south-east of Sicily: Caltagirone, Militello in Val di Catania, Catania, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa and Scicli were rebuilt after the 1693, in the same place or near to the cities which still existed in the time of the earthquake of that year. They represent a worthy of consideration collective enterprise, led with success to an high level of architecture and artistic fulfilment. Kept inside the late Baroque, they describe also particular innovations in the town planning and in the construction of cities". Also important are the criteria adopted by the Unesco for the inscription of the "Val di Noto" in the World Heritage Sites List: "This group of cities of the south-east of Sicily provides a notable testimony of the exuberant genius of the late Baroque art and architecture. The cities of "Val di Noto" represent the culmination and final flowering of Baroque art in Europe. The exceptional quality of the late Baroque art and architecture in "Val di Noto" put it in a geographic and chronologic homogeneity, as well as its wealth is the result of the earthquake, in this area, in 1693. The eight cities of the south-east of Sicily that have presented this request are the example of the town planning in this area in permanent risk of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions by the Mt. Etna". We hope also in the near insertion of the historic centers of Acireale (in the province of Catania), Ispica (in the province of Ragusa) and Mazzarino (in the province of Caltanissetta).
Besides the Unesco World Heritage Cities, all the "Val di Noto" is surrounded by places with a historic cultural importance as the city of Siracusa and its Greek-Roman traces, the ruins of Eloro and the Roman "Villa del Tellaro", the Byzantine necropolis and churches of Pantalica, Kamarina (colony founded by Siracusa in 598). It is impossible not mention the beautiful beaches that surround the "Val di Noto", like the Lido di Noto or Fontane Bianche, Marina di Ragusa or Pozzallo, or the Vendicari Oasis, or the magnificent Canyon of Cava Grande where the waters of the Cassibile river, running and plunging in natural waterfalls, make evocative little lakes. It is impossible also not remember the wonderful Sicilian cooking! In short, the "Val di Noto" is the ideal destination for who wants to combine art, Sicilian culture, cooking and relax.
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