Noto, Sicily
Noto, Sicily 2015
We wanted to take a day trip. We thought going by bus would be fun. We’d meet the locals. We settled on Ragusa as our destination. Only sixty miles from Ortygia, we’d be able to see it and be back by evening.
At the bus station, we met, not the locals, but a Chinese couple from Hong Kong who were traveling Italy by bus. It was the woman who informed us that the bus ride to Ragusa would take three and a half hours…one way. She suggested Noto, which hadn’t impressed me when I’d read its blurb in my guidebook. But since it took only an hour’s bus ride to travel the 16 miles to Noto, we decided on Noto.
Noto rests on the top of a hill. Restored after an earthquake in the 17th century, the straight streets run from east to west. The idea was that the ornate churches and palaces of golden stucco would always be bathed in sunlight. The main streets were for the upper classes and every aspect is one of beauty and harmony. Churches abound. When we asked why so many churches were needed, we were told that the nobles built them…a monument to the faith and maybe to themselves.
Cathedrale of San Nicolo
We enjoyed Noto. The woman from Hong Kong was right. We visited the churches, palaces and shops. We asked a teen-aged boy where we could find the best gelato. (Costello’s is the name, just in case you go to Noto on a hot day.)
Noto, Sicily
While the narrow streets of Italian villages are beautiful when you are there, it is hard to make them interesting. You can’t always find an Italian person to be your point of interest. And it is difficult to get the gold color. None of these photos shows the true golden color of Noto. You need to see for yourself.
To get the textured look on the first and last photo, I used Topaz Impression. I turned the photo into a sketch and then changed the blend mode to soft light or overlay or maybe multiply. Then I dialed in the amount of opacity that suited me.