Ducezio Palace in Noto
The Palazzo Ducezio di Noto, now the Town Hall, stands in front of the city's Cathedral. After the earthquake, in the reconstruction of the city, the two symbols of power , religious and political, were symbolically positioned opposite each other.
The name of the building pays homage to Ducezio, founder of the city.
It was built around 1760, based on a project by Vincenzo Sinatra, who was inspired by a model brought from France by Baron Giacomo Nicolaci. The works ended around 1830. Between 1949 and 1951 the second floor was added by the architect Francesco La Grassa.
The façade is convex and has twenty arches supported by columns with capitals Ionic in the lower section, and thirteen rectangular large windows in the upper section creating an evocative optical effect.
Inside, the most spectacular environment is the Hall of Mirrors . The room, with an oval plan, was initially used as a small theater, then as a Council Chamber, and in the Fascist era it became the representative room to welcome illustrious visitors. It is decorated with sumptuous Louis XV style mirrors, stuccoes and gold. The furniture was made by the Avolese master Sebastiano Dugo. The central painting on the vault, attributed to Antonimo Mazza, was made in 1826, and depicts an allegory of Ducezio, king of the Sicilians, to whom an officer of the genius shows the site of Neas on Mount Alveria. Site on which in pre-Hellenic age, the fortified city of Noto Antica will be rebuilt, to defend itself from the attack of the Greeks. In the side panels there are instead inscriptions concerning the glories of the city of Noto and expressions taken from Diodorus Siculus, Littara and Randazzo. On the left side there is also a telegram from Garibaldi to the patriots of Noto from 1860.
The Hall of Mirrors, used to receive many heads of state, and continues today to host illustrious delegations and prestigious events, such as the signature of the memorandum of understanding between the Eight UNESCO Municipalities for the creation of the cultural district.
