Discover Noto, a Sicilian Baroque Spring

Discovering Noto 

Noto, is a UNESCO world heritage site, the capital of Sicilian baroque architecture and one of eight towns located in south east Sicily, making up the Val di Noto region.

In 1693 the area was badly hit by an earthquake as well as Malta and parts of Calabria, this is when the architectural revival of these southeastern towns made history. Of course, it is also well known for its food…. How can it not be, we are talking about Sicily here!

Val di Noto – Sicilian Almonds

Val di Noto is where our almonds are grown, metres away from the sea. The natural irrigation of the land allows the almond trees to continue to thrive and be nurtured through traditional ways of farming, creating a superior quality almond. Dry farming, is a great sustainable way of looking after the land whilst enhancing the flavour of the almonds through the intensity of nutrients in the soil.

There are 7 varieties of Sicilian heirloom almonds that we personally know about and 5 of those are used in our Strazzanti almond cake blend. After 10 seconds of eating a Val di Noto almond you discover a natural, rich, yet subtle marzipan note that gradually and then suddenly appears on your palette. Filled with essential oils our almonds make one of the most moist cakes with its naturally balanced flavour and aroma of almonds in its purest form.

Discover more from The Sicilian Bakery.

The Infiorata di Noto – Every Spring in Noto 

It has been rumoured that “The Infiorata di Noto” all began in the 1980’s when one of Noto’s most famous and elegant streets, “Via Nicolaci”, was adorned with numerous flowers to create beautiful, colourful designs to admire the month of May and the colours of Spring.

History of course can even date this tradition back to the 1600s. What we know today is that every year young artists arrive in Noto to create masterpieces using only flowers. Every year there is a different theme to be inspired by and usually takes place on the 3rd week of May.

Eating in Noto 

You may be familiar with the Netflix series “A Chefs Table” where one of the most well know Sicilian cafes and pasticceria on the popular Corso Vittorio Emanuele was featured “Cafe Sicilia”. Chef Corrado Assenza takes you on a culinary flavour adventure with his classic techniques of showcasing the very best of Sicily’s ingredients through pastry, Sicilian granite and much much more.  A pioneer in the Sicilian culinary world, who was part of an important movement in keeping alive the heritage and production of Sicilian almonds, grown in Val di Noto. If you have a sweet tooth, this is the Sicilian pastry shop you must visit when in Noto.