Church of St. Clare

The Church of Santa Chiara, officially called the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, is located in Noto along Corso Vittorio Emanuele, adjacent to the former Benedictine Convent. It is another outstanding example of high Baroque architecture.The church, together with the adjacent convent, was designed by Syracuse architect Rosario Gagliardi and completed in 1755.The present facade of the church is rectangular in shape and has an entrance portal located on a small flight of steps. It is framed by two imposing Tuscan-style columns, crowned by a kind of "cups" made of white Hyblean stone. In the center of the columns is a window, while higher up stands the bell tower, also topped by cup-shaped stone pinnacles.On Corso Vittorio Emanuele is the "real" facade of the church, characterized by a portal surmounted by a broken archway. In the center of the archway is a window with a large semicircular tympanum, all decorated with fine floral ornaments and battlements. This part of the facade is in an elevated position above Corso Vittorio Emanuele due to earthworks carried out in the late 19th century.Since the portal is elevated above street level, it is not practicable and is used as a kind of "balcony" to the "Baroque Street." The same can be said of the convent portal, now walled up, but still fascinating with its sumptuous Baroque battlements and pyramidal pinnacles serving as gable decoration.The interior of the church is small in size but extremely impressive, considered one of the most beautiful in all of Sicily. It features a single nave of ovoid shape, surrounded by twelve stone columns surmounted by as many statues depicting the twelve apostles, works by Maestro Basile.In the right side altar is a 19th-century altarpiece painted by Salvatore Lo Forte, an artist from Palermo, depicting "Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica." In the left side altar is one of the most important works of sacred art in the province of Syracuse: a small 16th-century statue from Noto Antica depicting "The Madonna and Child," attributed to the famous Palermo sculptor Antonello Gagini.In the elegant high altar, embellished with fine polychrome stucco and battlements carved in bas-relief, an 18th-century canvas depicting "The Assumption of Mary" can be admired, although the artist is unknown.The Church of Santa Chiara in Noto represents a jewel of Baroque architecture and holds valuable works of art. Its majestic facade, striking interior, and ornate altars bear witness to the artistic and historical richness of the city of Noto.