Editing Noto (section)

==History==
{{main|Netum}}
The old town, Noto Antica, lies {{convert|8|km|mi|0}} directly north on [[Mount Alveria]]. A city of [[Sicel]] origin, it was known as [[Netum]] in ancient times. In 263 BCE the city was granted to [[Hiero II of Syracuse|Hiero II]] by the [[Roman Republic|Romans]]. According to legend, [[Daedalus]] stayed in the city after his flight over the [[Ionian Sea]], as did [[Hercules]] after his seventh task. During the Roman era, it opposed the magistrate [[Verres]].

[[File:Palazzo Ducezio-pjt.jpg|thumb|left|250px|A view of Noto Town Hall.]]
In 866, [[Muslim conquest of Sicily|the Muslims conquered the city]] and named it ''Nawṭis'', elevating it to the capital of one of Sicily’s three districts, the Val di Noto. It remained an important Islamic stronghold until 1091, when it became the last city in Sicily to fall to the Christians.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Jeremy Johns|title=Arabic Administration in Norman Sicily: The Royal Diwan|url=https://archive.org/details/arabicadministra00john|url-access=limited|date=7 Oct 2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781139440196|page=[https://archive.org/details/arabicadministra00john/page/n50 31]}}</ref> [[Jordan of Hauteville]], the eldest son of the [[Roger I of Sicily|first Norman Count of Sicily]], was made lord of Noto. Under [[Normans|Norman]] rule, it later flourished as a wealthy and influential city.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the city was home to several notable intellectual figures, including [[Giovanni Aurispa]], jurists Andrea Barbazio and Antonio Corsetto, as well as architect Matteo Carnelivari and composer [[Mario Capuana]]. In 1503 King [[Ferdinand II of Aragon|Ferdinand III]] granted it the title of ''civitas ingeniosa'' ("Ingenious City"). In the following centuries, the city expanded, growing beyond its medieval limits, and new buildings, churches and convents were built.

The medieval town of Noto was virtually razed by the [[1693 Sicily earthquake|1693 Sicilian earthquake]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ra9kAAAAcAAJ Distinta relatione dello spauentoso eccidio cagionato da'terremoti ultimamente con replicate scosse, accaduto a 9 & 11 di Gennaro di 1693 Regno di Sicilia] by Alessandro Burgos, Palermo and Naples, 1893.</ref> Over half the population is said to have died from the earthquake.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=HUpDAAAAYAAJ Storia della città di Noto], by Salvatore Russo Ferruggia, Pappalardo publisher, 1838): page 66.</ref> It was decided to rebuild the town at the present site, on the left bank of the River [[Asinaro]], closer to the Ionian shore. These circumstances have led this town to have a unique architectural homogeneity since the core of the town was all built over the next decades after the calamity in what is a typical and highly preserved example of [[Sicilian baroque#New cities|Sicilian baroque]]. The layout followed a grid system by [[Giovanni Battista Landolina]] and utilized the sloping hillside for scenographic effects. The architects [[Rosario Gagliardi]], Francesco Sortino and others each participated in designing multiple structures. The town was dubbed the "Stone Garden" by [[Cesare Brandi]] and is currently listed among [[UNESCO]]'s [[World Heritage Sites]]. Many of the newer structures are built of a soft [[tufa]] stone, which assumes a honey tonality under sunlight.{{what|date=May 2023}} Parts of the cathedral, however, unexpectedly collapsed in 1996.

The city, which had lost its provincial capital status in 1817, rebelled against the [[House of Bourbon]] on 16 May 1860, leaving its gates open to [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] and [[I Mille|his expedition]]. Five months later, on 21 October, a plebiscite sealed the annexation of Noto to [[Piedmont]].

In 1844, Noto was named a [[diocese]], but in 1866 suffered the abolition of the religious guilds, which had been deeply linked to the city's structures and buildings.

Noto was freed from the fascist dictatorship of [[Benito Mussolini]] in July 1943 when the town was liberated by British troops under [[General Bernard Montgomery]] as part of the opening phase of [[Operation Husky]], the allied mission to liberate Sicily. The Notinesi people voted in favour of the [[Italian monarchy|monarchy]] in the [[1946 Italian institutional referendum|referendum of 1946]].