Why Noto, Sicily Is Our Italy Destination of the Summer

In this unspoiled and sun-drenched corner of southern Italy, families can achieve the summer vacation trifecta of high culture, great food, and truly relaxing beach time—and make sightseeing, especially with little ones, feel serendipitous rather than onerous. Traveler Editor in Chief Pilar Guzmán recently explored the region with her own family, and came home with a glowing review. Our friends at Pitchfork curated a playlist inspired by Sicily at dawn.

By Pilar Guzmán

May 23, 2016

Matt Hranek
We arrived in Noto, by chance, at the magic hour. On that cloudless summer day, the limestone capital of Sicilian Baroque architecture had begun to smolder with the setting sun. Earlier that day, my husband and I, along with our two young sons, decided to cut short our trip to the northeastern town of Taormina in favor of somewhere a little less raucous and touristy.
Matt Hranek
From everything we’d heard, the southeastern tip of Sicily, between Syracuse and Noto in the east and Ragusa and Modica to the west—with its concentration of sleepy hilltop towns, accessible Greek ruins, and unspoiled beaches all within a 17-mile radius—sounded like the right mix of high culture and much-needed Smashball time.

Matt Hranek
In contrast to big European cities during the summer, this region of southern Italy has all the history of Rome along with the small-town breezy seaside charm of the Cinque Terre. (As many of us can attest, luring an eight-year-old through the Papal Apartments in Vatican City during an infernal August afternoon can make you never want to get on a plane with a child again.)
Matt Hranek
I remembered that a friend had mentioned a newish hotel called Seven Rooms Villadorata in the heart of Noto, a UNESCO-protected, eighteenth-century Baroque masterpiece of town planning just 30 minutes southwest of Syracuse. “I have a feeling about this place,” I told my husband, so we drove on.

Matt Hranek
Staying at Seven Rooms, which is neither a rustic agriturismo property nor a slick resort, is like spending time at the family estate of old friends. Built in 1731, near Noto’s highest point, the place feels in its formality much more French than Italian (as it turns out, the original owner had modeled it on a château in Montpelier).
Matt Hranek
It’s easy to cover the town on foot in a single afternoon along its two main arteries, the Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the Via Cavour, which run east to west. Or if you use Noto as your base for exploring the region, as we did, you can walk the streets at a languorous gelato-eating pace at the end of each day, as if you lived there.

Matt Hranek
Until you are in Noto, though, it’s hard to imagine just how close neighboring historic towns like Modica and Ragusa—and any number of Ancient Greek ruins and unspoiled beaches—are to the town center and to each other.
Matt Hranek
A number of Italian mainlander transplants aren’t just spending summers in Sicily, they’re taking up residence here, lured by nostalgia for some back-to-the-land Italian ideal. As a result, a handful of charming restaurants have cropped up to serve a refined crowd.

Matt Hranek
Within five to 12 miles of central Noto are some of the most secluded sandy beaches not just in Sicily but in all of Italy. The ones closest to town, Eloro-Pizzuta and Eloro, run right into the ruins of the seventh-century b.c. Greek city Eloro. One great option is to rent lounge chairs and umbrellas at the Agua Beach Resort, in San Lorenzo Noto, for just $12 a day; stay for a light lunch, like a plate of flavorful Pachino tomatoes with mozzarella.
Matt Hranek
As is the case across so much of the region, the original town was home in turn to Ancient Greeks, Romans, Normans, and Arabs before falling to the Christians in a.d. 1091. When the medieval village was leveled by an earthquake in 1693 and relocated nine miles away on a hill, it was rebuilt from the ground up by the celebrated Sicilian architects Paolo Labisi, Vincenzo Sinatra, and Rosario Gagliardi.

Matt Hranek
Looking for a more rural escape? Seven Rooms recently opened the Country House Villadorata, ten minutes outside town. It’s an equally luxe property with sleek modern furnishings and a gorgeous zero-entry pool. Rooms with terraces surrounded by citrus, olive, and almond trees are great for decompressing at the end of the day.
Matt Hranek
Make sure to take a side trip to nearby Ortigia for its fabulous outdoor food market near the Talete parking area, open every morning but Sunday. Here, tables are piled high with the ripest tomatoes and peaches, fresh swordfish and sea urchins, and you can watch Sicilian vendors do what they do best: shout, gesticulate with big carving knives, and make sure you don’t go home without something memorably delicious.

Matt Hranek
Getting to Noto and Beyond: It’s easiest if you can get a flight into Catania, just over an hour from Noto, though many international flights land in Palermo (three hours away). You will need to rent a car, which is easy enough to do at either airport. Fortunately, the main highways—like the A18, which connects Catania to Syracuse and Noto—are smoothly paved. Be sure to request a car with GPS since reception can be spotty if you’re reliant on Google Maps (especially with a limited data plan).