On January 11, 1693, at 13:30, the most powerful earthquake recorded in Italian history destroyed the ancient city of Noto on Mount Alveria, 8 kilometres north of today's town. Known in antiquity as Netum, the settlement occupied a heart-shaped plateau encircled by deep ravines and accessible only through a narrow, heavily fortified isthmus. Never taken by military force, the site was permanently abandoned after the quake, which claimed over 60,000 lives across the Val di Noto and ended thousands of years of human habitation dating back to the Early Bronze Age Castelluccio culture.
What to see
The ruins scattered across Mount Alveria feature substantial remaining stretches of the medieval city walls. At the entry isthmus stands the Norman castle, built by Duke Jordan, son of Count Roger, following the conquest of 1091 and later reinforced in 1542 under Viceroy Gonzaga. Among the overgrown structures are the remains of the Cistercian monastery of Santa Maria dell'Arco, established in 1212 by Isimbardo Morengia.
Rock-cut architecture offers a glimpse into earlier civilizations. Three carved chambers housed an ancient Greek gymnasium and two heroa (hero shrines). Late antique and Byzantine rock-cut quarters include the Christian hypogeum known as the Grotta delle 100 bocche and a Jewish catacomb called the Grotta del Carciofo. Archeologists have also identified shaft tombs from four Sicel necropolises and one Greek burial ground.
Visiting
Visitors can walk along the historical street layout and inspect the defensive curtain walls, gates, and outer gorges. The surrounding valleys contain several natural caves, including the retreat occupied around 1330 by Saint Corrado Confalonieri, who lived there as a hermit until his death in 1351.
Our editors' tip
Pay close attention to the masonry of the Norman castle at the entrance isthmus to observe how 16th-century fortification upgrades were integrated into the 11th-century medieval keep.