Noto

Noto was once situated on Mount Alveria but destroyed by an earthquake in Val di Noto in 1693 and was rebuilt in another site in Baroque style.

Tourist information

• Ufficio informazioni turistiche A.A.P.I.T.

  phone: +39 0931573779
  address: Piazza XVI Maggio

• Info Point Città di Noto

  phone: +39 339 4816218
  address: Corso Vitt. Emanuele 135
• Eloro District APP, in free download help you to find any interesting place in Noto and around all district, updated with local events and services.

Get there as a daytrip from Syracuse or a stopover from Syracuse to Ragusa (1½ hour), Gela, or Enna.

By bus

• Regional bus stop

  address: Via Pola
  Interbus and AST provide connecting services with Syracuse (approx. 1 hr 15 min). Tickets sold at the Hotel Flora next to the stop.

By train

The railway station is further from the town centre than the bus station. The station appears to be unmanned at least some of the time with no automated ticket machines (see below for some details).
Combined with some difficulty with getting a return ticket at the station it may be more convenient to take a bus on a return trip despite it takes a bit more time.

• Stazione di NotoA few trains a day towards Ragusa and Siracuse. No services on Sundays.

You can buy tickets for travel on Regional trains at the ticket offices of the station, at the ticket vending machines, at the authorized travel agencies and points of sale of the circuit Lottomatica, Sisal and Punto Servizi, from the Internet site, or with the App Trenitalia, available for iPhone and iPad, and also for devices with the Android operating system.
A ticket can be also purchased on board with a supplement of €5 to the cost of the ticket. On departure from the station, notify the train crew before getting on.

Noto is a World Heritage Site and billed as the most attractive of the Baroque towns in south east Sicily. In fact it's a really nice small town where the most of significant buildings are aligned along a single street.
Unfortunately some of them are closed and/or being restored. It feels, like in many other places in Sicily, there is not enough money available to bring the town back to what it once was.

• Cattedrale di San NicolòThe cathedral stands on the summit of a magnificent staircase consisting in three flights of steps dating back to the 18th century but restored at the beginning of the 19th century. The facade is closed off by two imposing bell towers and it is topped by two late 18th-century statues

• Porta RealeThe entrance into the town and its main street – the Corso Vittorio Emanuele.

• Palazzo Ducezio18th-century building designed by Vincenzo Sinatra with Neo-Classical frescos by Antonio Mazza. It now hosts the Town Hall.

• Teatro Comunale "Tina Di Lorenzo"

  address: Corso Vittorio Emanuele, 83
  Sometimes referred to as "La Scala di Milano in miniatura".

• Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata

  phone: +39 338 7427022
  address: Via Nicolaci
  Well-restored 18th-century palazzo. The ground floor is home to the town library "Principe di Villadorata" (Prince of Villadorata). The palace is still inhabited by some members of Nicolaci family.

• Chiesa di Santa Chiara

• Museo Civico

  address: Corso Vitt. Emanuele,149
  It consists of two parts: archaeological collection and Galleria d’arte contemporanea E.E. Pirrone (Contemporary Art Gallery). The building also said to have a nice roof terrace with wonderful views.

• Chiesa di San Domenico

Some other palazzi:

• Palazzo Landolina

• Palazzo Di Lorenzo del Castelluccio

• Palazzo Astuto

• Palazzo Trigona

• Palazzo Impellizzer

• Infiorata di Noto

  address: Via Nicolaci
  A festival which attracts thousands of tourists every year, the third Sunday of May. A street covered with splendid mosaics made with flower petals, in a corner dream. This new painting technique allows teachers infioratori to make a flowered carpet along the way Nicolaci.

Local specialties include marmelades, jams, honeys, biscotti, and granite.

• Trattoria del Crocifisso

  phone: +39 0931 571151
  address: Via Principe Umberto, 48
  Very good small restaurant of famiglia Baglieri. Very honest prices.

• Neas Ristorante

  phone: +39 0931 573538
  address: Via Rocco Pirri, 30
  Nice restaurant and outdoor serving in little courtyard. Local seafood.

• Caffè Sicilia

  phone: +39 0931 835013
  address: Corso Vittorio Emanuele, 125
  Run by Corrado Assenza of Netflix fame, the gelati is said to be the "best" in the world.

• Ristorante Manna Noto

  phone: +39 0931 836051
  address: Via Rocco Pirri, 19
  In the wine cellar of the Nicolaci Palace, and with period furnishings, the restaurant serves traditional Sicilian dishes surrounded by hundreds of bottles of wine. Expensive, but excellent.

• B&B Geranio Vacanze

• Not Sicily B&B

• Macrina B&B - Friendly proprietor (though not English-speaking) with good sized rooms a pleasant garden to have breakfast in.

• Sicily Villa RentalSea front holiday home in Marzamemi, nearby Noto. Old warehouse 10 meters from the sea, it can accommodate up to 17 guests. Weekly rentals available.

• A Lumia

  phone: +39 388 1944339
  address: SS115, 2KM west from Noto