The first days of my stay in Sicily I spent in the town of Noto. Its main street, the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, is lined with wonderful baroque palaces and public buildings: the ideal surroundings for an Italian evening stroll. The San Nicoló Cathedral unfortunately is hidden under scaffoldings at the moment, but there are plenty of other monuments to admire. The Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata was the highlight for me: its balconies are ornamented with cherubs, lions and horses, all very fine in detail. A great spot to try out my new camera!

Using a rental car, it's very easy to visit some of the other towns around Noto. I drove to Modica, Ragusa and Scicli on Easter Monday.

Modica is an elegant town with probably the best baroque church of the valley. There are amazing views. Ragusa is very different: all hills and steps. The main church (Duomo di San Giorgio) currently is also being renovated like the one in Noto.

Scicli finally is way off the beaten track, a huge block of houses in the middle of nowhere that looked completely desolate.

ICOMOS compares the Val di Noto to Mdina and Valetta on Malta. Also tainted by the same earthquake (though to a lesser degree), the same Arab influences and the elaborate balconies are there. The Valley is a good place to base yourself for a few days, and enjoy the high-quality architecture, the relaxed atmosphere and (as always in Italy) the food.