Ringing out Noto

Noto -- The Stone Garden

After three very late nights. I had to take a blog-break last night to get some much needed sleep.  A routine of cycle, visit the local sights, drink cappuccino, dinner and WINE (never before 8:00 p.m.), rinse and repeat, leaves little time for blogging.

Cherubs on a balcony console

To catch you up (this is important to a kid who once asked her parents if the action in TV shows kept going during the commercials) . . . We explored Noto (known as Sicily's Baroque city) on both sides of our Monday ride.  In the morning, we set our for a walk and got lots of (unsolicited) advice from the locals about where to go to capture the very best photos.  And the constant urging was to see the Baroque balconies on Palazzo Nicolaci.  Each of six balconies along this street has five console brackets of mermaids, winged horses and cherubs (all different).  Noto is unique in its nearly complete representation of Baroque architecture.  Wholly rebuilt, in a new location (about three kilometers from the original Noto) following the earthquake of 1693, virtually every building in the city is designed and constructed in Baroque style. 

The cupola on Noto Cathedral

And, one may think, equally amazing is the preservation of these (very) old buildings.  Well, it turns out Noto got quite the wake up for stewardship of its style and treasure (for surely this is the tourist draw for Noto), when the cupola on the Noto Cathedral collapsed in 1996.  Rebuilt and reopened in 2007, this work lead to the development and slow execution of a plan to care for all the city's spectacular buildings.

As we look around, restoration and rehabilitation in progress is clear where weather shielding and scaffolds surround buildings currently in their care rotation.

Typical stone paved narrow street

Our B&B in Noto was built in the mid-1700's by a Spanish family, and has been owned continuously by our Sicilian hosts for the past 120 years.  After breakfast on the first day, our host gave us a quick tour (understanding that for a number of years the home actually had been a museum, explained the weird uninhabited feel of the main house).  Most things were left in museum staging (to include his grandfather's (gynecologist) office -- complete with cringe-worthy tools of apparent torture (ugh!)

Our ride today was back to the coast (down, down and back up) to a nature preserve, which it turns out was still shuttered for the season.  The upside to a pre-season tour is the lack of crowds, and the downside is that not everything is open (and weather can be iffy -- tomorrow's blog will make the latter aspect abundantly clear).  Faced with the closed preserve -- and determined to find something -- we first explored to the limits of a couple of dead ends, then took a beach loop to (the mostly deserted) Lido di Noto.  It was a lovely and rather warm weather day -- perfect for biking.

Roofs of Noto from the bell tower

The fabulous bell

Back in Noto by mid-afternoon, we set out for gelato, pizza and espressi.  Once again following the recommendation of the locals, we climbed the long and winding stone steps to the top of the Chiesa di Santa Chiara.   Interestingly, each of the three bells in the tower (at the top of the steps), was rigged with an electric hammer, which seemed to me horribly undignified for so beautiful a trio of bells.  With the clacker still apparent (and quite moveable) in the center bell, I set out to ring it like a gong.  Despite the nearly apoplectic response of everyone around me, the beautiful ring sounded in a way freeing and important.  I was glad I did it.  It was my ringing farewell to this stunning Baroque city.

Old men in the park -- and the street was lined with them!