| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
 TheChurch of Holy Souls of Purgatory in Ragusa, constructed in the latter half of the 18th century | |
 Interactive map of Val di Noto | |
| Official name | Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (South-Eastern Sicily) |
| Location | Sicily, Italy |
| Includes | |
| Criteria | Cultural: (i)(ii)(iv)(v) |
| Reference | 1024rev |
| Inscription | 2002 (26thSession) |
| Area | 112.79 ha (0.4355 sq mi) |
| Buffer zone | 305.8 ha (1.181 sq mi) |
| Coordinates | 36°53′35.5″N15°4′8.1″E / 36.893194°N 15.068917°E /36.893194; 15.068917 |
  Val di Noto Location of Val di Noto in Sicily | |
Val di Noto (lit. 'Province ofNoto')[a] is a historical and geographical area encompassing the south-eastern third ofSicily; it is dominated by thelimestoneHyblaeanplateau. Historically, it was one of thethree valli of Sicily.
The oldest recorded settlement in the Val di Noto was the ancient town ofAkrai, nearPalazzolo Acreide, founded in 664 BC. It was the first colony of theCorinthian settlement atSyracuse.
The settlements of the Val di Noto were completely destroyed by the enormous1693 Sicily earthquake. Following the earthquake, many towns were rebuilt on entirely new sites, such asNoto andGrammichele. The rulers of the time, the kings of Spain, granted the noblemanGiuseppe Lanza special authority to redesign the damaged towns, which he achieved by sympathetically designing the new towns in abaroque andrenaissance style.
The newly established settlements underwent a redesign, featuring a central town square from which streets extended outwards in a radial manner. Key structures such as churches, cloisters, and palaces were strategically erected to serve as focal points along these newly laid-out streets, which formed a grid pattern.. Many of the individual towns were rebuilt to have a unique character, such as the town ofGrammichele which was built in ahexagonal shape with the town square in the centre, consisting of the parish and town hall.
The towns were rebuilt in what came to be known as theSicilian Baroque style; the most notable of which is the town of Noto itself, which is now a popular tourist destination due to its fine Baroque architecture.
The ruined town of Angie was rediscovered by the historian Tomas Fuentes in the 16th century. Further excavations in the early 19th century by Baron Gabrielle Ally unearthed important artifacts from the early history of eastern Sicily.
In June 2002,UNESCO inscribed the towns of the Val di Noto on theWorld Heritage List as "representing the culmination and final flowering ofBaroque art in Europe".[1] The listed towns areCaltagirone,Militello in Val di Catania,Catania,Modica,Noto,Palazzolo Acreide,Ragusa, andScicli.
