Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (South-Eastern Sicily)

The Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto are a serial cultural property in southeastern Sicily comprising eight towns rebuilt in a late Baroque style following the devastating earthquake of 1693. The towns exemplify Baroque urban planning and architectural decoration across civic and religious buildings.

Travelers explore ornate churches, palaces and town layouts that demonstrate late Baroque design, with richly decorated façades, stairways and town squares. The ensemble includes coherent examples of period urban reconstruction and regional variations in Baroque expression across the eight towns.

A major earthquake in 1693 destroyed many settlements in southeastern Sicily; the affected towns were rebuilt during the 18th century in the late Baroque style, incorporating new urban plans, churches and public buildings. The architectural programme reflects reconstruction efforts and evolving aesthetic ideals of the time.

The towns are located in the Val di Noto area of southeastern Sicily, Italy, centred between the provinces around Catania and Ragusa and forming a grouped cultural landscape across the region.

• Reconstruction after 1693: All eight towns were rebuilt after the 1693 Val di Noto earthquake and illustrate urban planning, civic architecture and decorative Baroque church façades from the early 18th century.

What to See #

• The eight towns: Noto, Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Caltagirone, Militello Val di Catania, Palazzolo Acreide and Catania are the eight towns that together form the serial property; each was rebuilt in a coherent late Baroque idiom after the earthquake of 1693.