In Ragusa It’s Like Spring

Somewhere in Ragusa Province… Where I am in now the northeastern United States, it’s fall right now, and everything is turning towards its winter mode. By contrast, in southeastern Sicily, it’s like spring. After the dry days of summer and June and July’s wheat harvest, this time of year the fields are starting to regenerate…

Noto’s Baroque Cathedral

Noto’s cathedral (La Chiesa Madre di San Nicolò) was completed in 1776 when the city was rebuilt following the devastating earthquakes of 1693. The Sicilian Baroque church sits at the center of a theatrical urban plan that is known as a “stone garden” for its use of local white rock and its elegant symmetry.

From the Stone Garden

The Parrocchia San Sebastiano in Palazzolo Acreide, Sicily offers a classic example of the elegant, UNESCO recognized architectural design of the “Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto.” Palazzolo Acreide is one of the towns that make up the UNESCO site. The town was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693 that flattened much of…