NOTOĭrive 90km south from Catania, along quiet roads bordered by hazelnut groves, and you might find yourself stuck behind a tractor piled with white onions all the way into Noto, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (all these towns are) partly renovated after decades of neglect. New stones were cut then, and streets redesigned by a Spanish duke, avenues lengthened and straightened, staircases and grand churches all conceived with baroque grace. Towns once an architectural chaos of Middle Eastern and Punic, suddenly shaken into a formal beauty by a devastating earthquake in 1693. Towns cut off from the rest of Sicily by geography - rough mountains and deep ravines - and yet close enough to visit all in one day, and within reach of the sea so you never feel trapped and grilled. Picture four towns yellow as cider held up to the light. Noto's quiet streets, baroque theatre and cathedral Michael Paul
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