Location and topography
Following the 1693 earthquake old Noto was abandoned and, with the help of a number of well-known master-builders, completely rebuilt on its present site 16km/10mi away. It is one of Sicily's most attractive Baroque towns.
History
The ancient town of Neetum
(now known as Noto Antica or Noto Vecchia) lay some 20km/13mi from the coast and about 400m/1,300ft above the Arsinato valley. It was inhabited by Siculan settlers and in the seventh century B.C., came under the influence of Syracuse and was fortified by them. It was of some importance in Roman times and also under the Byzantines, who built a castle to defend the town and the fertile land around. From the Arabic period onwards the southeastern part of Sicily was named Val di Noto, after the town of Noto. At that time it supplanted Syracuse as the provincial capital and retained this leading role until 1865.
The earthquake of 1693 wreaked such havoc that, at the instigation of Count Giovanni Battista Landolina of Syracuse, it was decided to abandon the town entirely and build a new one nearer the coast. The architects Rosario Galgliardi, Paolo Labisi, Antonio Mazza and Vincenzo Sinatra produced the plan for the new town in 1703, and it is this that Noto has to thank for its unique layout. The plan is based on a square grid system of streets, with three main axial roads running east to west on the slope one above the other: these are Via Ducezio, Corso Vittorio Emanuele with two prestigious squares, and Via Cavour. These three streets are crossed by a further axial road leading uphill, Via Principe Umberto. This grid was filled with churches and palaces, producing individual variety within a stylized unit, and thanks to the use of the bright-colored local limestone the whole district has a festive and cheerful air.
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