On a trip around Sicily in September of 2021, I stayed several nights in Noto and visited Scicli, Ragusa, Palazzolo, and Catania each for a few hours.

Noto is pleasant and easy to explore (its historic core is built essentially on a grid pattern). Climbing to the roof terraces of San Carlo is highly recommended, and the balconies of Palazzo Nicolaci are definitely a remarkable detail. Stepping into churches for a few minutes is always an easy thing to do; visiting Palazzo Castelluccio or Palazzo Nicolaci is of limited reward. In general, as delightful as the exterior Baroque ensembles are in the area, the interiors behind them are somewhat underwhelming.

Ragusa is the most visually striking of all villages when Ragusa Ibla is viewed from the terraces of Ragusa Superiore (most specifically, the viewpoint by Santa Maria delle Scale). Both parts of town are worth walking through and there are numerous visual highlights, but just as in Noto, the church interiors felt not as remarkable as the exteriors.

Scicli's inscribed area is pretty small and looks monumentally attractive. Unfortunately, all churches were closed at the time that we visited, so I have no evidence of whether they continue the theme of being more impressive on the outside. One of the key architectural monuments, Palazzo Beneventano is a gorgeous Baroque building that can only be admired from the street. Palazzo Spadaro, which we visited on a whim, was barely worth a 15-minute walk-through for the negligible cost of entry. The town definitely felt less visited than others, even adjusting for Covid times.

In Palazzolo Acreide, both of the inscribed basilicas are actually comparatively impressive on the inside. We were the only visitors at both on that particular morning. At San Paolo, which is located close to the edge of the village, a local introduced himself to us as a guide and gave us a whirlwind tour of the basilica (mostly in Italian) and even interrupted the padre's conversation with one of the parishioners to show us the offices; he then, of course, demanded a donation to the church. At San Sebastiano, which presides over the main square of the hilltop village, we explored the church on our own. Piazza del Popolo and the immediate surrounding area, although only part of the buffer zone and not of the inscription proper, are among the most visually pleasing ensembles anywhere in Sicily, IMHO.

Catania deserves more than a couple of hours that we could give it in passing within the constraints of our overall itinerary. We walked through the fish market, took in the exterior sights in the central area, but all churches being closed midday, never went inside any of the buildings.

Overall, plenty to see and admire in all of these towns. With a car, the logistics are fairly simple and the distances are not too taxing, so technically covering all 8 towns should be possible in about 3 days (although any time you allocate only midday hours for a visit, you risk not being able to get inside any churches, as I found in both Scicli and Catania); in my case, giving my better half a few hours at the beach each day took priority over including every town on the itinerary.