What is Noto known for?

Capital of Sicilian Baroque and the showcase of the eight Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto inscribed by UNESCO in 2002. Annual flower festival since the early 1980s, covering Via Nicolaci in petal mosaics for three days every May around the third Sunday. San Nicolò at the top of its staircase, dome collapsed in 1996 from untreated 1990 earthquake damage and rebuilt for reopening in 2007.

When is the best time to visit Noto?

Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov. April through June and September through November are the right months for Noto. The Infiorata falls on the third weekend of May; Via Nicolaci is closed to traffic and the petal mosaics go down for three days, the largest single event in the calendar. July and August push past thirty-five degrees and the day-trippers from Catania and Siracusa fill the cathedral steps from mid-morning. The town empties between two and five each afternoon. October is harvest in the surrounding Nero d'Avola vineyards and the light on the tufaceous limestone is at its strongest. Winter is mild but quiet; the cathedral stays open and the smaller Baroque palazzi run on reduced hours.

Noto is a comune in the province of Siracusa, Sicily region of Italy, about 44 kilometers from Siracusa.

How do I get to Noto?

From Siracusa, Noto is roughly 44 km by road.

Noto, Siracusa

Known for

BAROCCO DI NOTO
Capital of Sicilian Baroque and the showcase of the eight Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto inscribed by UNESCO in 2002.
INFIORATA
Annual flower festival since the early 1980s, covering Via Nicolaci in petal mosaics for three days every May around the third Sunday.
CATTEDRALE
San Nicolò at the top of its staircase, dome collapsed in 1996 from untreated 1990 earthquake damage and rebuilt for reopening in 2007.
PROTECTED PRODUCTS
The commune lies inside the Monti Iblei DOP, Ragusano DOP, Limone di Siracusa IGP and Pomodoro di Pachino IGP production zones.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

The festa: Corrado Confalonieri, 19 February

Why come

Noto stands on a Hyblean foothill ten kilometers inland from the Ionian. The medieval town of Netum, on Monte Alveria eight kilometers north, was abandoned after the 1693 earthquake and rebuilt down the slope as Noto Nuova on a single orthogonal grid, the plan that anchors the Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto inscribed by UNESCO in 2002. The cathedral sits at the top of its stairs on Piazza Municipio, facing the civic cluster of Palazzo Ducezio across the square.

Behind it, the ground rises again into Via Nicolaci, defined by the palace built in 1731 and covered each May, since the early 1980s, in petal mosaics for three days. Further along Corso Vittorio Emanuele the Jesuit church adds its own bell tower and a view back over the rooftops. Fifteen kilometers south the coast turns to salt marsh and reserve, a different register of the same limestone country. The local stone itself, a soft tufaceous limestone, turns gold in late light, which is the thread running under the grid, the staircases and the carved balconies alike: a single rebuilding, in a single material, read at every scale from a town plan down to a corbel.

What to see

Cattedrale di San Nicolò
The staircase it commands is wide enough to hold the whole width of Piazza Municipio in front of it, so the facade reads as the square's far wall as much as a building in its own right.
Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata
The balconies along the street are carried on carved corbels of grotesques and animals, stone figures that project out over the passersby below.
Piazza Municipio and Palazzo Ducezio
Civic square facing the cathedral, with Palazzo Ducezio, the eighteenth-century town hall designed by Vincenzo Sinatra after the rebuild.
Chiesa di San Carlo Borromeo
Mid-eighteenth century Jesuit church on Corso Vittorio Emanuele, climbable bell tower with a wide view across the limestone rooftops of Noto Nuova.
Noto Antica and Cava Carosello
Ruins of the abandoned medieval town on Monte Alveria eight kilometers north, the original Netum left in place after the 1693 earthquake.
Riserva di Vendicari
Coastal wildlife reserve fifteen kilometers south, salt marshes, tonnara ruins, flamingo migration and the Calamosche beach.

We recommend

Where to eat and stay

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

CrocifissoRistorante
One Michelin star for Crocifisso, and two Gambero Rosso forks (84/100).
Principe di BelludiaRistorante
Principe di Belludia has two Gambero Rosso forks (85/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Anche gli Angeli - Cucina VicariRistorante
Two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100), at Anche gli Angeli - Cucina Vicari.
Orti VilladorataRistorante
Orti Villadorata carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Il San Corrado di Noto ResortHotel
Il San Corrado di Noto Resort has a Leading Hotels of the World listing and a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Country House VilladorataHotel
One Michelin Key, at Country House Villadorata.
Dimora delle BalzeHotel
Dimora delle Balze has a place in the Michelin hotel guide to its name.
Masseria della VolpeHotel
Masseria della Volpe carries one Michelin Key.
Seven Rooms VilladorataHotel
Seven Rooms Villadorata has one Michelin Key to its name.
Zahir Country HouseHotel
Zahir Country House holds a place in the Michelin hotel guide.

Living here

Population 24,264
In-betweeni
Pharmacy in town
High school within a 30-minute drive
Train station in the comune
Nearest airport Sicily, 1 h 21 min drive
Regional capital Palermo, 3 h 43 min drive

Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

Elevation: 152 m
Population: 24,264
Surface area: 554.99 km²

On the map

Google Maps Apple Maps Directions from Siracusa

These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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