Val di Noto

Infobox World Heritage Site
WHS = Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (South-Eastern Sicily)


State Party = ITA
Type = Cultural
Criteria = i, ii, iv, v
ID = 1024
Region = Europe and North America
Year = 2002
Session = 26th
Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1024

Val di Noto (English: "Vallum of Noto" [The "Val" term does not refer to a "Valley" as in other Italian geographical names, but to one of the "Vallum" into which Sicily was administratively divided under the Arab rule.] ) is a geographical area of south east Sicily; it is dominated by the limestone Iblean plateau. In 1693 the entire area was decimated by an enormous earthquake. The area's towns were rebuilt in what came to be known as the Sicilian Baroque style; most notable the town of Noto itself, which is now a tourist attraction on account of its fine Baroque architecture.

The ancient town of "Akrai" (Palazzolo Acreide) was founded in 664 BCE: it was the first colony of the Corinthian settlement at Syracuse. The Syracusans were currently expanding their power over the Sicilian interior. Little recorded the ruined town was rediscovered by the historian Tommaso Fazello at the end of 16th century. Further excavations in the early 19th century by Baron Gabriele Iudica, unearthed important facts concerning the early history of eastern Sicily.

In June 2002, UNESCO inscribed eight old towns of the Val di Noto on the World Heritage List as "representing the culmination and final flowering of Baroque art in Europe" [http://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/1024rev.pdf] . The towns inscribed are Caltagirone, Militello in Val di Catania, Catania, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa, and Scicli.

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