| The Holy Week is the ideal period to discover one | | | | the Holy Week in Ragusa Ibla where during the |
| of the most charming areas of the island: the Val | | | | week the processions follow one after the other |
| di Noto. The baroque style of cities such as Noto, | | | | in the wonderful frame of this county, Palm |
| Modica, Ragusa Ibla and Scicli, matches perfectly | | | | Sunday in Scicli, where the ancient Madonna della |
| with the mystic, religious climate of the | | | | Pietà - found roughly in the year 1000 after being |
| processions that take place between Palm Sunday | | | | hidden for 3 centuries in order to preserve it |
| and Easter. | | | | from the Saracens – is taken from the Chiesa |
| Sicilian baroque | | | | di Santa Maria la Nova to the Chiesa del Carmine |
| In 1693 an earthquake razed 53 cities and several | | | | and the solemn procession of the Madonna Vasa |
| villages to the ground between Catania and | | | | Vasa di Modica where a Madonna dressed in |
| Ragusa, effacing forever the Norman, medieval | | | | mourning meets the Jesus’ statue in the |
| aspect of eastern Sicily. But this deadly event | | | | piazza San Domenico and kisses him. |
| was an opportunity for an outstanding work of | | | | |
| reconstruction that was made and that gave to | | | | |
| Sicily the baroque splendour of the Val di Noto, | | | | Where to stay |
| nowadays UNESCO’s world heritage. | | | | The best way to enjoy a holiday in complete |
| The old, Sicilian nobility wanted to reconstruct its | | | | freedom is to stay in an apartment or in a private |
| cities and dwellings according to the magnificent | | | | villa in the city or in the vicinity of the town |
| taste of their time: the baroque. This was the | | | | centres in the flourishing, Sicilian countryside. Not |
| first experiment on a large scale of imposing this | | | | far from Modica is Villa Trombadore, a |
| style not only on some buildings but also on the | | | | comfortable, patrician dwelling dating back to the |
| whole city plans. This pompous, spectacular | | | | end of the nineteen century - situated along the |
| architecture, that until then had found its greatest | | | | road that leads to Ispica – that can |
| expression in Rome, matched perfectly with the | | | | accommodate up to twelve persons. For those |
| aristocratic, Sicilian mentality and found in the local | | | | who want to enjoy an unspoilt sea the best |
| stone a material that was perfect for the | | | | solution is Costa Bianca, a modern complex of |
| imaginative realizations made by the architects | | | | vacation homes surrounded by an oasis of lush |
| and artisans. | | | | vegetation situated in the Plemmirio nature |
| A unique style was born, that of the Sicilian | | | | reserve, in the vicinity of Siracusa. Whereas the |
| baroque, that has its more bizarre realizations in | | | | authentic atmosphere of Ragusa’s |
| Noto, but that has also many magnificent | | | | countryside can be experienced at the Parco |
| examples in Modica, Scicli, Ragusa Ibla, Siracusa | | | | Cavalonga, a resort situated in the middle of an |
| and Catania. | | | | 18-hectare nature park where three country |
| Traditions during the Holy Week | | | | houses of the estate, dating from the last |
| The baroque was not only an artistic, architectonic | | | | century, have been converted into seven elegant, |
| style, but also the expression of strong religious | | | | comfortable apartments. For those seeking |
| belief and popular fallacy, that have been handed | | | | further information has plenty of accommodation |
| down until now. | | | | in the eastern region of Sicily, among Siracusa, |
| As in the other regions that were strongly | | | | Modica and Ragusa. To book just send an email or |
| influenced by the Jesuit’s culture, Easter time | | | | call the 0039 0941 361681. |
| is particularly striking and full of events such as | | | | |