A Trip to Sicily: Noto
Noto, a UNESCO Baroque architecture heritage site, is high on every tourist’s list. It is a wonderful day trip destination from Siracusa, which is only half an hour train ride away.
Noto has one of the most beautiful and best preserved Baroque architecture among the seven UNESCO Baroque towns. One of the impressive structures is the Cathedral of San Nicolo di Mira, known as the Noto Cathedral. The wide stairs led up to the cathedral are still in perfect shape, shining under the bright Sicilian sun and adding further grandiose.
Directly across from the Cathedral is the Ducezio Palace, which is the current town hall of Noto. The Piazza Municipio separates the two stunning structures and is a popular hanging out spot for the locals and tourists alike. Also close by is the Church of San Domenico, which is another beautiful Baroque example. There is such a concentration of the stunning Baroque buildings in Noto; it is almost a bit overwhelming.
As if this is not enough, Via Nicolaci is home to some of the most amazing and unique balconies to be found in Noto. On one side of the Via Nicolaci is the Palazzo Villadorata with its interesting and curious buttressed balconies. On the other side is the Palazzo Nicolaci, where we had a tour for one of the wings of the palace. It was well worth the 4 euro price tag.
Recently, Noto has also attracted a different crowd due to the Netflix's 'Chef's Table' featuring Corrado Assenza. Assenza, an acclaimed gelato, cake and pastry master, owns Caffe Sicilia, a historical café serving gelato and desserts. The Café opened in 1892 and is now on its fourth generation in the same family. There are so many gelato flavors we haven’t seen anywhere else. Fennel, orange and onion, anyone? It turns out to be delicious. The earthiness of fennel, the refreshing citrusy of the orange and a hint of spice from the onion blend perfect together, achieving a complex and delicious flavor.
The real, and very pleasant surprise came from our lunch at Ristorante Crocifisso, a Michelin recommended restaurant in a low-key residential neighborhood. The recently renovated restaurant has a sleek, modern, but very charming look. The smoky-grey walls are decorated with golden mirror frames; the benches are upholstered in rich velvet and dotted with soft petal colored velvet cushions. What a beautiful and comfortable room!
The food and the wine did not disappoint either. The very knowledgeable sommelier Gianmarco Iannello is friendly and speaks very good English. His knowledge of the Sicilian wines, especially the small vineyards in different regions, is second to none.
The dishes are Sicilian classics executed in a very refined manner. We ordered the Sicilian staple pasta with sardines and breadcrumbs, and it was fantastic. But the real star was the pork cooked two ways, slow cooked pork belly and grilled pork loin. It was the best pork belly we ever had. It was so tender that the texture almost felt like a cake, but it also held the perfect cube shape all the way through.
