The old town, Noto Antica, lies directly north on
Mount Alveria. A city of
Sicel origin, it was known as
Netum in ancient times. In 263 BCE the city was granted to
Hiero II by the
Romans. According to legend,
Daedalus stayed in the city after his flight over the
Ionian Sea, as did
Hercules after his seventh task. During the Roman era, it opposed the magistrate
Verres. In 866,
the Muslims conquered the city and named it
Nawṭis, elevating it to the capital of one of Sicily’s three districts, the Val di Noto. It remained an important Islamic stronghold until 1091, when it became the last city in Sicily to fall to the Christians.
Jordan of Hauteville, the eldest son of the
first Norman Count of Sicily, was made lord of Noto. Under
Norman rule, it later flourished as a wealthy and influential city. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the city was home to several notable intellectual figures, including
Giovanni Aurispa, jurists Andrea Barbazio and Antonio Corsetto, architect Matteo Carnelivari, and composer
Mario Capuana. In 1503 King
Ferdinand III granted it the title of
civitas ingeniosa ("Ingenious City"). In the following centuries, the city expanded, growing beyond its medieval limits, and new buildings, churches, and convents were built. The medieval town of Noto was virtually razed by the
1693 Sicilian earthquake. Over half the population is said to have died in the quake. It was decided to rebuild the town at the present site, on the left bank of the River
Asinaro, closer to the Ionian shore. These circumstances have given Noto a unique architectural homogeneity, since the core of the town was built over the decades after the calamity in a typical and highly preserved example of
Sicilian baroque. The layout followed a grid system by
Giovanni Battista Landolina and utilized the sloping hillside for scenographic effects. The architects
Rosario Gagliardi, Francesco Sortino, and others participated in designing multiple structures. The town was dubbed the "Stone Garden" by
Cesare Brandi and is listed among
UNESCO's
World Heritage Sites. Many of the newer structures are built of a soft
tufa stone, which assumes a honey tonality under sunlight. Parts of the cathedral unexpectedly collapsed in 1996. The city, which lost its provincial capital status in 1817, rebelled against the
House of Bourbon on 16 May 1860, leaving its gates open to
Giuseppe Garibaldi and
his expedition. On 21 October, a plebiscite sealed the annexation of Noto to
Piedmont. In 1844, Noto was named a
diocese, but in 1866 it suffered the abolition of the religious guilds, which had been deeply linked to the city's structures and buildings. Noto was freed from the fascist dictatorship of
Benito Mussolini in July 1943 by British troops under
General Bernard Montgomery as part of the opening phase of
Operation Husky, the allied mission to liberate Sicily. The Notinesi people voted in favour of the
monarchy in the
referendum of 1946. Scenes from the 2015 film
By the Sea (starring
Brad Pitt and
Angelina Jolie) were filmed in Noto. ==Main sights==