Castelluccio Palace of Noto

It is among the most beautiful towns in Eastern Sicily Noto, located in the shadow of the Iblei Mountains, a stone's throw from Pachino and Avola. The town, rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake which devastated the Val di Noto, is today considered the capital of the Sicilian Baroque, even if one of its most beautiful buildings was built in the neoclassical style: it is the Castelluccio Palace, built in the XVIII at the behest of the Di Lorenzo family.
As proof of how magnificent this construction is, the palace was chosen as location of Joe Wright's film "Cyrano".

History of the Castelluccio Palace in Noto

Palazzo Castelluccio was built, based on a project by Vincenzo Sinatra, between 1770 and 1782, by the express will of Corrado Di Lorenzo, Marquis of Castelluccio and belonging to one of the most important noble families of that time. He has one neoclassical style, unlike most of the monuments in the city of Noto and its surroundings.

With the departure of the last Marquis of Castelluccio, the palace passed into the hands of the Knights of Malta: since 2011 it has been literally abandoned, until the arrival of the French Jean-Louis Remilleux who restored it, making it as splendid as it once was. It took 4 years to complete the work and is today not only the private residence of the Remilleux but also a museum accessible to the public.
Palazzo Castelluccio was built in Via Cavour, where it is assumed that in the past there was a spring and an underground river, sources of drinking water for the owners of the building.

Architecture and works of art inside the Palazzo Castelluccio

A visit inside Palazzo Castelluccio gives visitors a step back in time, in an environment full of magnificence and elegance, among frescoed vaults, trompe-l'œil, windows embellished with capitals, floors in colored ceramics typical of Sicily and renewed fabrics. Even the wallpapers are reproduced faithfully to the original ones: you can also admire the silver wallpaper in the Salone dei Vulcani.
The furniture present in the Palace is substantially part of the collection of Jean Louis Remilleux and its most valuable pieces are a beautiful mahogany armchair fruit of the genius of the cabinetmaker Jacob (present at the court of Napoleon Bonaparte), a portrait of Girodet depicting Murat and a clock of the seventeenth century.
The kitchens of the building have been preserved almost intact and the stone oven, the freight elevator for serving food on the noble floor and then the dining room intended for the servants are clearly visible.
The stables are also splendid, with mangers restored and covered with ceramics to make them easier to keep clean.

What to see around Palazzo Castelluccio

In addition to Palazzo Castelluccio, Noto is a jewel of a city and its main symbol is the scenography Minor Cathedral of San Nicolò, with the monumental façade set between two bell towers and the large 700th century staircase: inside there are wooden statues from the 700th century and a beautiful baptismal font. Beautiful is also there Church of San Domenico, Baroque building with a convex facade with two orders, Doric and Ionic: inside the gilded wooden simulacrum of the Madonna del Rosario is conserved.

Then there are theHermitage of San Corrado Outside the Walls, with the caves where the patron saint of Noto and Nicolaci Palace del Principe di Villadorata, a splendid example of eighteenth-century Baroque with statues and curved balconies in wrought iron.
Do not miss a visit to the Civic Museum of Noto, located within the Park of Villa Landolina, with finds that mostly come from the archaeological site of the ancient Greek city of Eloro.

Not far from Noto then rises the marvelous Vendicari Nature Reserve, pristine coastal stretch which also includes aancient Tonnara , Calamosche beach.

Recommended activities for a tour of the Saline di Trapani

How to get to Noto

By car:, to visit the Palazzo Castelluccio di Noto, starting from Syracuse, you need to take the SS114 and then the E45, the highway that connects Syracuse to Catania.
From Palermo, on the other hand, you have to take the SS113 and from here take the A19, the highway that crosses all of Sicily up to Catania. From here proceed along the E45 to your destination.