Val di Noto and the southeast
Areas of Sicily
In 1693, a devastating earthquake destroyed Noto, Ragusa, Modica, Scicli and other towns in the southeast of Sicily. Rebuilt in beguiling late-baroque style, today they form part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area is not only home to architectural delights, however, but natural ones too, including idyllic sandy beaches, coastal nature reserves, picturesque fishing village, deep gorges, and rolling hills of almond, olive, and carob trees.
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Exploring the area
From the seafront town of Marina di Ragusa to the southeasternmost tip of Sicily, the coastline is an almost uninterrupted stretch of sandy beaches and picturesque resorts, including Sampieri, and Marina di Modica. Rounding the tip and heading north are the beaches of Marzamemi, San Lorenzo, and Vendicari Nature Reserve, whose salt water lagoons and varieties of flora offer the ideal habitat for a wide range of fauna, including nesting turtles and migrating flamingos.
Inland, rolling hills criss-crossed with drystone walls enclose the area's myriad splendid towns, each one a sublime expression of baroque originality, fantasy, obsession, and, considering the seismic rubble from which they rose, man’s resilience in the face of the overwhelming force of nature.
Things to see and do
- Hit the beaches: Some of the best beaches in Sicily are to be found in the Val di Noto and southeast Sicily, from the paradisiacal, unspoilt sands of Vendicari Nature Reserve below Noto to the southeasternmost tip of the island, where seemingly endless stretches of sand follow the coast westwards through Pozzallo, Marina di Modica, Sampieri, Donnalucata, Marina di Ragusa and Punta Secca.
- Go full gourmet: Epicurean delights abound in southeast Sicily. In terms of dining out the restaurant scene encompasses everything from authentic backstreet trattorie and sea-food eateries to Michelin-starred gems. The cheese is particularly good around Ragusa (try Ragusano DOP), while Modica is famed for its 400-year-old tradition of chocolate-making. The Cerasuolo di Vittoria and Nero D'Avola wines produced in the area are of excellent quality, while the historic fishing villages of Portopalo di Capo Passero and Marzamemi continue their traditions of preparing and packaging seafood delicacies, such as dried tuna roe salamis.
- Go for baroque: Noto, Ragusa, Modica and Scicli are the best-known and most-visited of southeast Sicily's gorgeous baroque towns, but Avola, Rosolini, Ispica, Comiso, Vittoria and Chiaramonte Gulfi also have impressive architectural centres to explore.
- Follow in the footsteps of Montalbano: The hugely popular TV show Inspector Montalbano was filmed in southeast Sicily, and a good way of investigating the area is to visit the locations featured in the series.
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