Noto

Noto is a historic town in southeastern Sicily, in the Val di Noto area of the province of Syracuse. Set on a plateau above the Asinaro Valley, on the southeastern side of the Hyblaean Mountains and not far from the Ionian coast, it looks out over a landscape of citrus groves, almond trees and olive trees.

Its identity is closely tied to a dramatic break in its history. Ancient Noto is traditionally linked to the Sicel king Ducetius in 428 BC, and the town later held an important role during Arab rule after 866. In 1503 Ferdinand the Catholic called it **“Urbs Ingeniosa”**, a name that still suits a place associated with learning, civic pride and refined urban culture.

The present city was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693, giving Noto the harmonious Baroque character for which it is now known. Its pale honey and pink-toned stone, aristocratic mood and planned urban form make it one of the defining towns of the Sicilian Baroque, distinctive for the way ancient memory and post-earthquake reinvention meet in a single landscape.