Why this ride
From Noto it runs 255 km to Noto; allow about 5 h 17 of riding. On the way it passes Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa, Militello Val di Catania and back through Ragusa. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Noto and Militello Val di Catania
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 255 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 17
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Noto
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.
Read the complete Noto write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Noto is where the day begins. Next is Palazzolo Acreide.
2. Palazzolo Acreide
Long before the Baroque churches, there were the Greeks. In the seventh century BC, settlers from Syracuse founded a hilltop outpost here called Akrai, controlling the routes into the interior of Sicily. The remains of their town lie on the hill above modern Palazzolo Acreide: a small, beautifully preserved Greek theatre with views over the hills, stone quarries turned into burial chambers, and the Santoni, a series of rock-cut figures of the goddess Cybele, carved into a cliff face, weathered but still powerful.
Read the complete Palazzolo Acreide write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Palazzolo Acreide comes up about 30 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ragusa.
3. Ragusa
In 1693 a terrible earthquake destroyed much of south-eastern Sicily, and the towns of the Val di Noto were rebuilt in the baroque style of the time, creating a group of towns of extraordinary beauty, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ragusa is one of them, a town divided into two parts: Ragusa Superiore, the newer town on the ridge, built after the earthquake, and Ragusa Ibla, the old town on a lower hill, rebuilt on its medieval street plan.
Read the complete Ragusa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 67 km into the recorded legs you reach Ragusa. Next is Militello Val di Catania.
4. Militello Val di Catania
Militello in Val di Catania is a small town in the hills south-west of Catania, in eastern Sicily, surrounded by orange groves and olive trees, with Mount Etna visible on the horizon. Like many towns in this part of Sicily, it was devastated by the earthquake of 1693, which destroyed much of the south-east of the island, and was rebuilt in the Baroque style. Its churches and palaces are part of the UNESCO-listed Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto, inscribed in 2002, together with Noto, Ragusa, Modica, Caltagirone and others.
Read the complete Militello Val di Catania write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Militello Val di Catania, about halfway. Next is back through Ragusa.
5. back through Ragusa
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ragusa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ragusa sits at 153 km, about halfway. Next is back through Palazzolo Acreide.
6. back through Palazzolo Acreide
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Palazzolo Acreide write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Palazzolo Acreide comes up about 225 km into the recorded legs. Next is Noto.
7. Noto
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Noto write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Noto closes the day.
Leg by leg
Noto to Palazzolo Acreide
Noto → Palazzolo Acreide is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Palazzolo Acreide to Ragusa
Palazzolo Acreide → Ragusa is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ragusa to Militello Val di Catania
Ragusa → Militello Val di Catania is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Militello Val di Catania to back through Ragusa
Militello Val di Catania → back through Ragusa is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ragusa to back through Palazzolo Acreide
back through Ragusa → back through Palazzolo Acreide is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Palazzolo Acreide to Noto
back through Palazzolo Acreide → Noto is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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