36.89° N · 15.07° E
Baroque south-east Sicily, rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake: Noto, Ragusa Ibla, Modica and Scicli, with the Vendicari reserve beside the sea.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Walk · 3 h · All. Noto's Corso from end to end, the cathedral of San Nicolò and the 90 rooms of Palazzo Nicolaci with its balconies of figures.
Walk · 3 h · Everyone. From Ragusa Superiore to Ibla by the steps of Santa Maria delle Scale, Gagliardi's Duomo and the Giardino Ibleo.
Tasting · 30 min · All. The bean-to-bar workshop of Sicily's oldest working chocolatier, with the history of Modica chocolate and a tasting at the end.
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
From April to June and in September and October, with bearable heat for strolling. In May, Noto covers Via Nicolaci in flowers. July and August are very hot at midday; in winter it's quiet and mild, but some places to stay close.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
A car is the practical way to get around the Val di Noto: Noto, Modica, Ragusa Ibla and the Vendicari coast are close to one another, but buses and trains have few departures. Pick up the car at Catania airport and, to get around the historic centres, leave it outside: they have narrow streets and limited traffic.
Catania airport is the gateway to the Val di Noto for anyone leaving Spain, with direct flights from several Spanish cities. Noto and Siracusa are the first towns on the route from there; Modica and Ragusa lie further west. The practical thing is to hire the car on landing. You can manage without one, but more slowly: there are AST buses from Catania airport to Modica.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: Ten rooms and suites with 18th-century frescoes in a wing of the Palazzo Nicolaci, in the centre of Noto, with a terrace over the Corso and private parking.
Why we like it: Albergo diffuso of restored stone cottages in Modica Alta, with a Mediterranean garden, a small pool and terraces overlooking the old town.
Why we like it: Former fortified baglio of medieval origin on the Ragusa plateau, now a five-star resort with a pool, spa, estate restaurant and a necropolis in the grounds.
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: an almond granita with brioche in the morning, or a ricotta cannolo; in winter, the ricotta crostata
What to order: the house mixed antipasto to share, then ricotta ravioli with pork sugo or the broad bean macco with wild fennel
What to order: at lunchtime, the three-course Valle Santa Domenica menu (€70); in the evening, Siquilia, four surprise courses (€150), or the long Stupor Mundi (€198)
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
At midday in summer the stone reflects the heat. The best light and atmosphere come at sunset, when everyone comes out.
Park in Ragusa Superiore and go down the steps: you see the old town from above before entering it.
Each Modica chocolate maker has its own flavours, with cinnamon, vanilla, chilli or orange. Tastings are common in the shops.
All these towns are climbed and descended by steps.
Go to Noto in May, when the Infiorata covers Via Nicolaci with pictures made of flower petals. Book accommodation well ahead.
Catania, Caltagirone and Militello are far from the rest. With three or four days, focus on Noto, Ragusa, Modica and Scicli, and leave a day for Vendicari.
The south-east of Sicily, between Syracuse, Ragusa and Catania. In January 1693 two earthquakes flattened some sixty towns in the area, and almost all of them rose again at the same time, in the style of the day: late Baroque. That's why today you see whole towns with churches with curved façades, balconies on carved brackets and grand staircases, all in the same pale limestone, which takes on a honey colour in the sun. Eight of those towns have been World Heritage Sites since 2002: Noto, Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Palazzolo Acreide, Caltagirone, Militello in Val di Catania and Catania.
Noto is the most harmonious. It wasn't rebuilt on the ruins but on a new site, on a slope about 8 km from the old town, with a grid of streets designed from scratch. Walk the Corso from end to end, climb the steps of the cathedral of San Nicolò, which partly collapsed in 1996 and has been rebuilt, and turn onto Via Nicolaci, the street of the balconies of Palazzo Villadorata: that's the Baroque walk through Noto. In the afternoon the stone glows and the terraces fill.
Ragusa is two towns. After the earthquake, most of the residents moved up to Ragusa Superiore, and the old town was left below, as Ragusa Ibla. They were separate municipalities until 1926 and are divided by the Valle dei Ponti ravine. Walk down to Ibla by the steps of Santa Maria delle Scale, reach the Duomo di San Giorgio, which Rosario Gagliardi began in 1738, and end at the Giardino Ibleo: we cover it in the descent to Ragusa Ibla.
Modica also has an upper and a lower part. From the Duomo di San Giorgio, in Modica Alta, a flight of about 300 steps leads down to Modica Bassa, where San Pietro stands with its bell tower. Modica is also the city of chocolate.
Scicli is smaller and less visited, with Baroque churches at the foot of a hill. If you have one more day, add Palazzolo Acreide, inland, or Caltagirone, famous for its ceramics.
It's worked at a low temperature, with no added cocoa butter or other fats and without conching, the long hot beating that makes industrial chocolate smooth. That's why it's grainy, with a texture unlike other bars. In 2018 it became Europe's first chocolate with protected geographical indication, and only chocolate made in the municipality of Modica can carry the name. The Chocolate Museum, in the Palazzo della Cultura, shows its history, with documents of chocolate makers in Modica since 1746 and an 18th-century workshop where they give demonstrations. To see it being made, the visit to the Fattoria di Bonajuto, the city's oldest chocolate maker, ends with a tasting.
Between Noto and Marzamemi is the Vendicari reserve, officially an Oasi faunistica, with undeveloped beaches, lagoons and an old tuna-fishing station. It has five entrances with parking, from north to south: Eloro, Marianelli, Calamosche, Vendicari and Cittadella. Entry is paid, and on beaches such as Marianelli there are no bars, showers or shade: bring water and a parasol. Everything is on the page for the Vendicari reserve.
And if you go near Syracuse, the boat trip round Ortigia and its caves shows the old town from the sea.
In Noto, have a granita with brioche for breakfast at the Caffè Sicilia, on the Corso since 1892, and sleep inside Palazzo Nicolaci at Seven Rooms Villadorata. In Modica, the home cooking of the Osteria dei Sapori Perduti and the little stone houses of Casa Talía, with a view of the old town. Near Ragusa, the Eremo della Giubiliana is a fortified baglio in the countryside, and for a special meal in Ibla there's Ciccio Sultano's Ristorante Duomo, with two Michelin stars.
Fly to Catania, with direct flights from several Spanish cities. From there, Noto and Syracuse are the first towns on the route; Ragusa and Modica lie further west. To tour the area the practical option is a car: the towns are close to one another, but buses and trains have few departures. A good base is Noto, for the coast and Syracuse, or Modica or Ragusa, for the interior. Park outside the historic centres: their streets are narrow and in some of them traffic is restricted.
Questions
Three to five. One day for Noto and Vendicari, one for Ragusa Ibla, one for Modica and Scicli, and one or two for Syracuse and Ortigia, which are next door.
It's possible but slow. There are buses between the towns, with few departures, and you'll have to fit the day around their timetables.
In Noto, if you want to combine town and beach. In Modica or Ragusa Ibla, if you prefer the interior and being in the middle of the Baroque.
In May, every year since the 1980s, on Via Nicolaci. Check the dates before booking.
Yes. The Vendicari reserve, between Noto and Marzamemi, has undeveloped beaches. Access is paid and there are no services.
Because the 1693 earthquake destroyed almost everything at once, and the reconstruction was done within a few decades, in the same style and with the same stone. That's why the towns look all of a piece.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/sicily/val-di-noto
