MARI'S TRAVELS WITH HER CAMERA

Category: Art and Architecture

  • Noto – Sicily’s Perfect Baroque Town

    Noto – Sicily’s Perfect Baroque Town

    Sicily, with its dark history, rough mountains, ravishing scenery, and Etna, that brooding snow-capped volcano that is  never far from people’s thoughts, is one of the Mediterranean islands to which I am constantly drawn back.   I go there for the known attractions and for the food, heavily influenced by the cuisine of the many nations that conquered the island, and for the Baroque towns that sprang up after the earthquake of 1693 that devastated the south-east of the island.  All are beautiful, but the finest of them all is Noto, a town built of golden stone from a local quarry and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After the earthquake, Giuseppe Lanza, Duke of Camastra, employed the best architects of the day to rebuild the city just south of the original town: the result is a triumph of urban planning and harmony.  Noto is in the province of Siracusa, itself a gem of a city and one that should not be rushed through as it has some of the most beautiful buildings in the area, plus the world famous Duomo in the Piazza of the same name, a sea-front with a wall just made for sitting on while you feast on a gelato.  Noto lies about 35 kilometers southwest of Siracusa and is easily reached by local trains which run regularly.        

    It was built almost entirely in the  prevailing style at the time, Baroque, and these near-perfect buildings are what makes Noto so special and which earned it the title of  UNESCO World Heritage site.

    It is a very accessible town.  You can wander the length of the graceful Corso, stopping here and there for a coffee and one of Noto’s famous cakes, or a gelato or freshly squeezed orange or lemon juice.  Take a detour down the side streets and climb the steep steps to the top where the aristocrats lived, then come down to the next level which housed the clergy and other nobility, before arriving back at street level where the ordinary people lived.   One of the best streets in which to wander is the Via Nicolaci, famous for its buttressed balconies held up with playful horses, griffons, cherubs and old men, incongruous on an otherwise severely classical façade.

    Just at the top of Via Nicolaci is the beautiful elliptical façade of the Chiesa di Montevirgine. I didn’t have time to count them, let alone visit them, but I was assured that Noto has thirty-two churches.  Think on that – thirty two churches.

    So, what to visit when you are only there for a day visit.  If time is short my advice is just to wander.  Like Florence, the history of the town is in its buildings, their façades and the sense of life in the streets.  The Cathedral rises impressively above Corso Vittorio Emmanuelle and is approached by a wide and graceful flight of steps and its simple interior  

    may well come as a surprise in contrast to its exterior.

    I had initially mistaken the flamboyant Chiesa di san Dominica for the Cathedral, flanked as it is by huge palm trees and looking more Middle East than Mediterranean. The Municipio (town hall) has an exuberant trompe l’oeil ceiling and a “magic mirror” which is just a mirror of illusion.  My own favourite interior was the Vittorio Emmanuelle Theatre, still offering productions to its patrons, a fantasy theatre with red velvet and gilded boxes lining the walls echoed by heavy drapes curving round the proscenium arch.      

    If you want to imagine what Italian towns looked like in the 17th century, then Noto should be on your list of towns to visit – it’s very special.    

  • Auxerre, Historic Town in France

    Auxerre, Historic Town in France

    Auxere on the River Yonne

    Just over an hour from Paris by train and in the heart of the Yonne are of Burgundy.  You may be lucky enough to cruise some of the canals in the area, but if not and if you can drag yourself away from the charms of Paris, you won’t be disappointed in this town colonised by the Romans.

    The vineyards that surround Auxerre from which are produced some delightful  wines, are among the most celebrated in France, and some of the oldest.   This is the area of the great Chablis houses and if time permits a visit to Chablis itself would be the icing on the cake.   It lies approximately 15 kilometres away, famous for its white wine from the Chardonnay grape, referred to here as liquid gold.   The oldest certified vineyard in France, the Clos de la Chainette dating back to the 7th century, is in the Auxerre area.

    Centreville, Auxerre.  Auxerre (pronounced Ausserre), was originally an active port, being on the wine route, but as the railways superseded water transport it lost its pre-eminence and became the pleasant unhurried town it is today.  Situated as it is on the River Yonne, and with the growth of sailing and the popularity of France’s canals, river cruisers and hotel barges have once again made the river the focal point of the town.  Cafés and restaurants along the banks are ideal places from which to while away an afternoon.

    The old town starts right behind the Quai and from here a walk through the steep narrow cobbled streets with their timbered houses up to the newly restored Cathedral St Etienne is an essential part of a visit.   The Tour de l’Horloge, a magnificent sundial, leads into the pedestrian shopping area.

    It is a town that repays exploring on foot, as it has preserved an exceptional architectural heritage and every corner seems to hold a piece of art and history.  Its historic centre is crisscrossed by winding streets along which are boutiques, restaurants and houses of the local residents.  It may look like an open-air Museum, but  Auxerre is very much a living town.

    Not to be missed: the Cathedral of St. Etienne, St. Germain Abbey, Plaçe St. Nicholas and the houses with wooden sides along the banks of the River Yonne.

    Cathedral Entrance
    Auxerre on the River Yonne