Sicily 2016 Day 2 (cont...)

From Palazzolo Acreide to Noto, Sicily
Noto is famous for its Baroque architecture,
and since 2002 it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site 'Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto'.

The main street, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, runs from the imposing gateway of Porta Reale (close to the park and the bus stop)
along past the Chiesa di San Francesco (1704-1745), which sits atop its long staircase, to the town's central piazza.

The town's striking architectural coherence is due to the major earthquake that struck Sicily in 1693.
The old town of Noto was almost completely destroyed, and it was decided to to reconstruct a splendid new town several miles away.
Thus Noto was rebuilt on its present site, carefully designed for functionality and architectural harmony.

Palazzo Ducezio is located in Noto and is the town hall, the name is in honor of Ducezio , founder of the city.

Cattedrale di Noto; La Chiesa Madre di San Nicolò
This Roman Catholic cathedral is constructed in the style of the Sicilian Baroque,
began in the early 18th century and was completed in 1776.

The Cathedral is dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra,
and has been the cathedral of the Diocese of Noto since the diocese's establishment in 1844.

The cathedral dome collapsed in 1996 as a result of structural weakening caused by an earthquake in 1990,
to which faulty building alterations in the 1950s may have contributed. It has since been rebuilt, and was reopened in 2007.