NOTO e Infiorata Festival
by Andira Vitale
Noto celebrates the marvels of spring with a colourful festa known as the Infiorata. Via Nicolaci, it becomes home to flower artists worldwide who create a carpet of beautiful petal mosaics inspired by the year’s theme.
Every year in May, Noto, Sicily, transforms into an open-air museum, a sight that can only be witnessed during the Noto Infiorata Festival. Here, master florists and artists craft floral carpets of extraordinary beauty, a unique and unforgettable experience for all those who love Italian art, nature, and culture. So we set out to participate in this unique festival that reflects Italian art, nature and culture.
Experience the magic of the Noto Infiorata festival, a unique event that blends religion, folklore, and the beauty of spring. Between May and June, the picturesque Sicilian town of Noto, renowned for its captivating Baroque architecture, undergoes a breathtaking transformation into a vibrant explosion of colours and scents.
The 45th edition of the Noto Flower Festival is dedicated to Puccini. “Homage to Giacomo Puccini on his Centenary: Maestro living in time and art”. Il tutto a cento anni dalla morte del compositore.
A great homage to Tuscany and the composer’s immortal works. Thousands of flowers were used to compose the portrait of Puccini and the characters of Puccini’s operas themselves.
But Noto’s homage further ennobles an unforgettable figure of Italian culture. The highlight of the flower display is the portrait of the composer, with the word “Puccini”, which has the “100” inside, which indicates the centenary. Then, there is the portrait of Turandot and Madama Butterfly.
As per tradition, the steps of the Sicilian town are also painted. One of these is dedicated to Tosca, for example. For Puccini lovers, walking through the streets of Noto these days is an exciting journey back in time.
We reached NOTO through citrus gardens. Orange, tangerine, lemon trees, and giant cacti accompanied us. The olive groves whispered to us that we were in a Mediterranean climate. We parked our car at Maggio 16 Square. This cute square showed us we had come to a charming town. On one side, the garden is decorated with an elegant fountain overlooking the square and the San Domenico Church with its beautiful architecture behind it, and on the other side, the eye-catching theatre building was built in neo-classical architectural style in 1860.
Maggio 16 Square opened to Vittorio Emanuele, the city’s main street, where most of the buildings most representative of Noto were located. It begins at Porta Reale and extends westward with three squares, each with its church. Municipal Square, right in the middle of the street, was the city’s centre. Public gardens were located along or overlooking this road, including the Monastero del Santissimo Salvatore’s elegant tower, the inspiring Palazzo Ducrezio, the cathedral, the Church of San Francesco, and the Jesuit Church and College.
Nicolaci, on the left, which intersects the main street, is one of the most beautiful streets in the city. The most attractive structure of the street extending to the Montevergine Church was undoubtedly the Nicolaci di Villadorata Palace, built in the baroque style in the 17th century. In the six remarkable balconies of the palace, different figures such as lions, horses, angels and sirens adorned each console. We encountered very nice buildings from here to Cavour Street, parallel to Vittorio Emanuele. The city was already organised around these two streets. The fact that the streets intersect at right angles made it possible to travel around the city easily.
After a short break at the cafe on the street, we continued our tour in Mazzini Square, where the Crocifisso Church and surrounding streets are located. The square looked fascinating with the tangerine trees around it. We completed our trip with the photos we took from the terrace of San Carlo Church. We quickly climbed a narrow staircase to the top of this church, whose ceiling is decorated with beautiful frescoes. This time, we watched the city from above.
Noto offered a unique architectural panorama that reflected the harmony and unity of the baroque style. Let it cast its spell. It’s difficult to resist such magic when everything seems dipped in gold. The effect is due to the material used for the buildings erected after the 1693 earthquake, a local stone in unique golden and pinkish shades. Noto, with the other late Baroque towns in Val di Noto (Caltagirone, Militello Val di Catania, Catania, Ragusa, Modica, Palazzolo, and Scicli), has been the apotheosis of late Baroque town planning and architecture. Destroyed by the terrible 1693 earthquake, it was rebuilt from scratch on a new site, about 10km from the old centre. The principal building material used was local compacted limestone, seemingly absorbing the sun’s aureate rays and transforming them into a soft golden-honeyed glow. The effect at sunset is quite something.
Under the supervision of the Duke of Camastra, the Spanish Viceroy’s right-hand man, three architects, Labisi, Sinatra and Gagliardi, set to work, intent on creating a new town based firmly on Baroque ideals. The city was divided into three parts by three roads running from east to west, thus ensuring the constant attention of the sun. At the top lived the nobility, in the middle the clergy, and at the bottom, hoi polloi.
The main thoroughfare is Corso Vittorio Emanuele and many of Noto’s most representative buildings. It begins at the Porta Reale and extends west via three piazzas, each with its church. The public gardens are situated along this road, as is the Monastero del Santissimo Salvatore with its graceful tower, the inspired Palazzo Ducrezio, the cathedral, the Church of San Francesco, the Jesuit Church and College, and Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata.
Curvaceous concave façades battle for supremacy next to their convex cousins, while rectilinear edifices frown regally at their presumptuous frivolity. Grotesque masks, cherubs and curlicues jostle with volutes and other embellishments, and puffed-up, wrought-iron goose-breasted balconies abound.
Near the end of the Corso is Piazza XVI Maggio, with its magnificent Church of San Domenico and the inspiring Fountain of Hercules. Further uptown is Via Cavour, the home of elaborate noble palaces, including Palazzo Astuto and Palazzo Trigona Cannicarao.
Part of a UNESCO Heritage Site (along with the neighbouring towns of Ragusa, Modica, and Sicily), Noto is not to be missed, even if you don’t like Baroque architecture. Wherever we looked, we encountered historical buildings with dazzling architecture. There must be very few cities where so many Baroque buildings are in harmony. NOTO is more than a Baroque town; it symbolises originality, fantasy, and resilience.
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