Val di Noto, called the Noto Valley in error, is instead a geographical territory in southeastern Italy notable for cities built in the late Sicilian Baroque style. An earthquake in 1693 leveled the towns that existed, requiring them to be rebuilt; the emergency reorganization caused a harmonious and rather homogeneous structure based on the styles current at that time. You can see that examples of this style, the southern Baroque, in our picture gallery below.

It's not often that designers have a chance to completely re-think the design of a city without the pressure that comes from current residents who generally oppose the "gentrification" of their corner of it.