Chiesa di Santa Chiara
The entrance catches you off guard: a small staircase on Via Capponi, set below the level of Corso Vittorio Emanuele, because 19th-century earthworks lowered the street and left the original portals bricked into the wall above. You slip inside and the church opens into an unexpected oval — a single nave ringed by twelve stone columns, each carrying an apostle carved by the stuccatore Basile, the whole space curving gently around you.
Look up at the wooden vestibule ceiling and you'll find a painted Assumption of Mary. Look across to the oval openings in the nave walls and you'll notice the curved iron grilles — gelosie — through which the Benedictine nuns once attended Mass without being seen. The building holds that quiet strangeness long after you've read the placard.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who come back tend to go straight for the panoramic terrace, especially in the long summer evenings when the honey-coloured stone of Noto takes on a deeper tone. The ticket for terrace access is separate from the church entry, so buy it before you head up. The cloistered rooms off the former convent are easy to miss — worth the extra few minutes.
The story behind Chiesa di Santa Chiara
Rosario Gagliardi, the Syracuse architect who shaped much of Noto's rebuilt streetscape, designed Santa Chiara in 1730. Construction stretched until 1758 — not unusual for a commission of this ambition — and the result was a church annexed to a working Benedictine convent, its gelosie grilles a structural reminder that the sisters participated in worship from behind the wall, invisible to the congregation.
The 16th-century Madonna col Bambino on the left altar came from Noto Antica, the old city destroyed in the 1693 earthquake, attributed to the sculptor Antonello Gagini. Salvatore Lo Forte added the altarpiece of San Benedetto and Santa Scolastica in 1854. After a long closure, the church reopened in 2006 following restoration, and the whole ensemble sits within the UNESCO Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto designation, awarded in 2002.
Good to know
Open daily 10:00–19:00 (until 22:00 in summer), except during Mass. Enter from Via Capponi, not Corso Vittorio Emanuele. Terrace access requires a separate ticket. The adjacent convent now houses the Noto Civic Museum. Buses from Syracuse (Interbus, roughly one hour) stop at Viale Principe di Piemonte.
Where is Chiesa di Santa Chiara?
More tickets & tours for Chiesa di Santa Chiara
Book directly at the provider
What travellers say about Chiesa di Santa Chiara
This was well worth the additional ticket price to take the stairs all the way to the top. Views are amazing looking out across the city. The history is very interesting and some great visuals of how the would live in the past.
A wonderful place for a walk with a scenic viewpoint and a stunning view of the cathedral. Peaceful atmosphere, charming surroundings, and the perfect spot to take in the beauty of the city from above
2 euro’s to enter, lovely little church but the real treat is the panoramic views of the areas surrounding Noto and Noto Cathedral. Worth spending some time in the church and soaking up the area.
Beautiful church We loved that it is a donation policy not so much run on paying for a ticket before you enter like many other places of worship now.
The Chiesa di Santa Chiara (1758) in Noto, Sicily, Italy, has a remarkable elliptical form made all the more striking by the elegant Baroque decor.
More of Noto
Discover where to stay, what to do and the best deals for your trip.
Explore Noto →More attractions in Noto
All of Noto →
Background adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · ratings & place photos via Google · other photos with per-image credit. Ticket links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.