Noto died on the evening of 11 January 1693 and was reborn on another hill. An earthquake that struck south-east Sicily that night destroyed dozens of towns, and killed tens of thousands of people. The survivors of Noto decided to abandon the old site, high on a mountain, and build a new town a few kilometres south, on a gentle slope nearer the sea. The result is a baroque city planned on a grid, with long streets, broad stairs and a succession of churches and palaces, all made of soft honey-coloured limestone that turns gold at sunset. The late baroque towns of the Val di Noto are listed by UNESCO, and Noto is the star.
The main street, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, runs through three squares with a cathedral and a town hall, and the stairs up to the cathedral make a stage for the whole town. The dome of the cathedral collapsed in 1996, after a long period of neglect, and was rebuilt and reopened in 2007. The Via Nicolaci, with its wrought-iron balconies held up by stone sphinxes and grotesques, is carpeted in flowers every May for the Infiorata, a festival that draws crowds.
Noto is also the centre of a food culture. Almonds grown in the surrounding fields go into granita and marzipan, and the sweet shops sell a wide range. Avola, nearby, gave its name to the Nero d'Avola grape, which makes a rich red wine. The Vendicari nature reserve, on the coast to the south, is a place of salt pans, beaches and watchtowers where flamingos stop in migration.
The riding is easy and open. Roads cross a landscape of dry-stone walls, carob and olive trees, with long views to the sea. Surfaces can be rough, with potholes and cobbles in the old towns, and the heat in summer is intense. The main roads are fast, with trucks. Expect narrow streets and one-way systems in the old town, and park outside the centre. Noto has eighteen thousand people and fuel stations on the approach roads. Avola, with twenty-nine thousand, has more.
Spring and autumn are best. Winter is mild, and the baroque stone looks warm in low light. In midsummer the stone reflects the heat.