Noto is the apogee of Sicilian Baroque and its newly restored centre is as perfect as a stage set. Much of Noto’s charm lies in the local limestone from which it is built, the hues varying from gold to apricot ice cream depending on the light. Unfortunately, this stone is also friable (and thus fragile), leaving the city vulnerable to the quakes and tremors to which the region is prone. In 1996 the dome of the cathedral collapsed and the restoration, painstakingly undertaken stone by stone, has recently been completed.

Work began on Noto in 1703, ten years after the original town – now known as Noto Antica – was destroyed by the earthquake. To see the best of the town, walk along the main street, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, passing through the imposing Porta Reale. On the left is the church of Santa Chiara (open daily), built on an unusual elliptical plan, and beyond, the theatrical central square, Piazza Municipio, where a magnificent flight of steps rises to the muscular Baroque Duomo (open daily), its interior serene and flooded with light from the rebuilt dome. Opposite the Duomo, is the elegant Palazzo Ducezio, Noto’s town hall. Walk alongside the Duomo to Palazzo Trigona, with its curvaceous balconies, where steps lead up past more fine Baroque buildings to Noto Alta, the upper town, and the church of Santa Maria di Gesù (rarely open to the public), from where there are views of the surrounding countryside.

Follow signs for Siracusa, then Siracusa/Pachino on the SP15. Right on the SP19 for Pachino, following signs for Portapalo. Look for sign for Cala Mosche on the walls. Slow for sharp left turn.

This enchanting coastal nature reserve has well-marked paths to unspoiled beaches of white-gold sand, and a chain of salt lakes that between October and March attract over 200 species of migratory birds, including flamingoes, herons, cranes, black storks and pelicans.

A one-hour walking tour

Leave the main car park, turn left. Visitors can pick up free large scale maps from the information booth. Follow the path straight ahead, stopping off to observe the birds on the Pantano Grande 1 lake from the hide on the left. The path continues along duckboards through a forest of bamboo down to the coast, emerging on a fine beach of pale gold sand dominated by the ruins of an abandoned tonnara 2, or tuna processing plant, dating back to the 1920s and built by the Florio family, who invented canned tuna. The lakes were used to provide salt for the preserving of tuna.

The path then follows the coast, with more views over Pantano Grande, and its smaller sister lake, Pantano Piccolo 3, to the stunning cliff-hugged bay of Cala Mosche 4, one of the most beautiful bays in Sicily and a popular location for film shoots. Until recently, turtles would nest on the beaches, but local fondness for turtle soup led to their disappearance. Projects are underway to encourage the turtles back to Vendicari. From here the walk can be extended to take in the Agriturismo Cala Mosche 5, about 1 km (half a mile) away along a clearly marked path across typical Mediterranean maquis.

Continue on the SP19 following the brown signs for Marzamemi. Parking is available on both sides of the town.

Trip 22: Sicilian Baroque | RISERVA NATURALE L’OASI DI VENDICARI

Once an important centre for tuna fishing, Marzamemi retains an evocatively decayed maritime complex of 19th- and early 20th-century tuna factory, warehouses and a lichened church, all built of mellow local limestone. A tonnara at nearby Pachino houses La Cialoma restaurant, owned by the niece of the last rais, a name for the head tuna fisherman that goes back to Arab times. “La Cialoma” was the song traditionally sung to round fishermen up for the mattanza, or tuna slaughter, held in May and June, when tuna were trapped in a complex system of nets, before being stabbed to death.

Follow signs for Pachino. Left on SR6, cross SR8, right to Capo delle Correnti.

Trip 22: Sicilian Baroque | NOTO

Trip 22: Sicilian Baroque | RISERVA NATURALE L’OASI DI VENDICARI

Trip 22: Sicilian Baroque | NOTO

Trip 22: Sicilian Baroque | NOTO

This is the southernmost tip of Sicily, further south than Tunis and Algiers. There are high winds and dramatic seascapes to be seen at this meeting point between the Ionian Sea and the Canale di Sicilia, but in calm weather and at low tide it is possible to wade across a sunken isthmus to the Isola delle Correnti just offshore.

Take SR6 towards Noto. Left on SP22, becoming SP49, follow signs to Ispica.

The hill town of Ispica retains a small Baroque core, worth visiting for the elliptical Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore, concealed within a maze of modern houses, and for the splendid Art Nouveau exterior of the Palazzo Bruno di Belmonte, seat of the local council, (open daily), currently undergoing restoration. Ispica lies at the head of a limestone gorge honeycombed with rock-cut tombs and dwellings. The part of the gorge nearest to Ispica is organized as the Parco Archeologico della Forza (open daily, 9am–1hr before sunset ), with a well-marked path that takes in ancient cave dwellings, catacombs converted into stables and cave churches. The caves were inhabited up until the earthquake of 1693 and a flight of 3,300 steps, now eroded, would have been used to fetch water from the valley.

Take SS115 towards Modica, right on SS43. Follow signs for Modica Centro, park at the end of Via Medaglie d’Oro.

This fine, thriving Baroque town is as famous for its chocolate as for its architecture. Wander along the main street, Corso Umberto I, where the best places to sample Modica’s traditional “glass chocolate” are Caffè dell’Arte and Bonajuto. Ask to see a video of a Bonajuto TV advert, in which an American pilot, suspended from a tree by his parachute, tries to persuade a little girl to run for help, with the offer of a Hershey bar. She shakes her head, and silently shows him her bar of Bonajuto.

Of Modica’s sights, the most spectacular is the mighty church of San Giorgio (open daily) by Baroque genius Rosario Gagliardi, at the head of a flight of 250 steps. The church of San Pietro (open daily) just off Corso Umberto I, is approached up another magnificent flight of steps, punctuated by statues of the Apostles. Easter celebrations in Modica culminate in the Vasa Vasa, when a statue of the Madonna in mourning searches for her lost Son; upon meeting the resurrected Christ she kisses him (vasa means kiss in Sicilian) and sheds her black veil.

Follow signs to Scicli on SS54. Park by main square Largo Gramsci.

Trip 22: Sicilian Baroque | MODICA

An appealing Baroque town spilling along three river valleys dominated by soaring limestone cliffs, where life is typically Sicilian: the pace is slow, men in suits and caps converse for hours outside circoli (small clubs), talking politics over a glass of local wine. Scicli is home to the Gruppo di Scicli of contemporary artists who are opposed to the trend for conceptual art, favouring instead an authentic response to the landscape and people around them.

Take a wander down Via Mormino Penna, lined with Baroque churches and palaces, and visit the curvaceous church of San Bartolomeo (open daily). Do not miss the monster-adorned balconies of Palazzo Beneventano, just down the street from San Bartolomeo. A short drive out of town are the remains of the 11th-century church of San Matteo and castle, fused to the cliff tops. The castle was built by the Saracens and this period of Arabic rule is recalled in the festival of Madonna delle Milizie in May, which re-enacts a battle between Saracens and Normans, won by the Normans with the help of the Madonna. Another remarkable event is the Cavalcata di San Giuseppe, held on the Saturday nearest to 19 March, when horses, astonishingly decorated with flowers, follow the Holy Family in a candlelit procession.

Follow signs to Sampieri on the SS40.

Sampieri is a little summer resort that retains a few old stone fishermen’s houses, at the head of an unspoiled 4-km (2-mile) beach, dominated by the ecclesiastical-looking ruins of a 19th-century tuna processing plant. The fine walk along the beach here is taken by the artists of the Gruppo di Scicli every morning.

From Sampieri the coast road passes through Donnalucata, a pleasant fishing village and bustling resort with a long sandy beach. Further on is the Riserva Naturale Macchia Foresta Fiume Irminio, a coastal nature reserve with paths through bamboo, lentisk and giant thistles to sand dunes and designated swimming areas. Marina di Ragusa, at the turn off for Ragusa, is a lively resort with a good beach.

Take SP65, which becomes SP64, then SP89, then SP63 to Marina di Ragusa. Turn right towards Ragusa on SP25. In Ragusa follow signs to Ibla. At the foot of the road that descends to Ibla there is an ample car park.

Trip 22: Sicilian Baroque | MODICA

Trip 22: Sicilian Baroque | SCICLI

Trip 22: Sicilian Baroque | MODICA

Trip 22: Sicilian Baroque | SCICLI

Ragusa is a town with two distinct identities: Ragusa Superiore, a Baroque town laid out on a grid system over a mountain plateau; and Ragusa Ibla, also Baroque but rebuilt after the earthquake along the tangled streets of the old medieval town. Ibla, in particular, is undergoing a renaissance, with historic buildings being renovated and stylish hotels and restaurants opening. Though something of a museum town and lacking in everyday Sicilian town life, Ibla is undeniably gorgeous, and wandering its largely traffic-free streets, past the grand façades of golden limestone palaces and town houses, is like walking onto a film set.

The main Piazza del Duomo is dominated by the Duomo di San Giorgio (open daily), a lovely three-tiered Baroque wedding cake at the head of a flight of stairs. To its left is the Circolo di Conversazione (open daily, 10am–noon), a private club set in a sombre Neo-Classical building where the venerable burghers of Ibla still congregate. From Piazza del Duomo, Corso XXV Aprile, lined with shops selling typical Sicilian foods, leads down to the pretty public garden, Giardino Ibleo. Take a Navetta bus from here to Ragusa Superiore, to see the town’s second cathedral (open daily), and, close by on Via Roma, the Museo Archeologico Ibleo (open daily), with prehistoric, ancient Greek, Hellenistic and Roman finds. Before leaving Ragusa be sure to pick up a scacce, a kind of vegetable pie.

Follow signs for Catania Agrigento. SP10, then SP8 to Chiaramonte Gulfi.

The cobbled streets, palaces and churches of this handsome, well-kept town are all built of the same luminous silver-grey limestone. It retains its labyrinthine medieval street plan, along with a medieval arch, the Arco dell’Annunziata, one of the original town gates. The façade of the cathedral, Santa Maria Nova, (open daily) is currently undergoing renovation, but should soon be revealed in all its Baroque splendour. There are also several tiny museums (closed Mon), the most interesting devoted to olive oil, musical instruments and Stile Liberty, the Italian Art Nouveau. Each museum is signposted. From outside the Villa Comunale there are panoramic views down to the coast.

Wind up the steep hill out of town following signs for Giarratana. Take the SP57, then the SP23 and the SP124 to Palazzolo Acreide.

A slightly ramshackle Baroque town, whose roots go back to ancient Greek times, Palazzolo Acreide is currently undergoing a major facelift. Today, it is well worth a visit for its three striking Baroque churches: Santa Maria Addolorata, its façade adorned with barley sugar-twist columns, vines and acanthus leaves; the elegant, more restrained San Sebastiano; and San Paolo whose façade is currently concealed behind scaffolding. Also worth seeing is the Casa-Museo di Antonino Uccello (open daily), a glorious folk museum whose collections of wedding trousseaux, ceramics, agricultural equipment and reconstructed houses vividly evokes Sicily’s rural past. Above the town, the ruins of ancient Greek Akrei include a small but marvellously preserved theatre, which is still used for occasional performances. Do not leave Palazzolo without sampling a local speciality, impanata, a bread pasty similar to the scacce of Ragusa.

Take the SS124 direction Siracusa, turning left at a sign to Ferla. Turn right at the old Ferla train station. Keep on going past Ferla, following the winding road along the upper ridge of the Pantalica gorge to the Filiporto Necropolis.

The limestone gorge of Pantalica, formed by the Bottigliera and Anapo rivers, is pitted with ancient rock-gouged tombs, dwelling places and temples, occupied from antiquity. The stronghold of the kingdom of Hybla, it was conquered by the Greeks in the 8th century BC. Many people from coastal communities escaped here from the invading Arabs, and some of the most evocative sites belong to this medieval period: cave-houses, a cave-chapel, preserving the hues of an ancient fresco, and even a cave-prison can all be seen at the Filiporto Necropolis, about 9 km (6 miles) from the village of Ferla.

Retrace back to the SS124 and Palazzolo Acreide.

Trip 22: Sicilian Baroque | RAGUSA

Trip 22: Sicilian Baroque | RAGUSA

Trip 22: Sicilian Baroque | RAGUSA

Trip 22: Sicilian Baroque | RAGUSA