NOTO, DIOCESE OF. – A city and diocese in Sicily, Italy, suffragan of the archdiocese of Syracuse. Seven communes of the diocese are in the province of Ragusa and four in the province of Syracuse.
It has an area of 1,514 sq. km and a population of 10,800 inhabitants, almost all Catholic; it comprises 53 parishes served by 115 diocesan priests and 64 regular clergy; it has a major and a minor seminary; 14 male and 18 female religious communities (Ann. Pont., 1951, p. 292).
It is the ancient Netum, which passed to the Romans under Hiero II; under Arab rule it became one of the three principal divisions into which Sicily was then divided, under the name of “Val di Noto.” The old city, situated between two deep ravines, was destroyed by the earthquake of 1693. The present city stands on the slope of a hill.
Noto was the provincial capital from 1837 to 1865 in place of Syracuse. The diocese was erected by Pope Gregory XIII on 15 May 1844 by separation from the archdiocese of Syracuse; its first bishop was Msgr. G. Menditto. From 1913 to 1936 its bishop was Msgr. Vizzini.
The cathedral is dedicated to St. Nicholas of Bari. It preserves the relics of the hermit of Piacenza, St. Conrad Confalonieri. Notable are the church of the Most Holy Saviour and the convent, the churches of the Immaculate Conception, of St. Dominic with its Tarocchi façade, of Monte Vergine, etc. The church of the College, formerly of the Jesuits, is now a lyceum. The church of the Crucifix has on its portal two Romanesque lions from a church of ancient Noto. Notable are the shrines located in the ravines near ancient Noto, namely the Hermitage of Our Lady of Divine Providence and the hermitage of St. Conrad. There have also been identified remains of a monastery and two apsed Byzantine basilicas in the district of St. Mark. Near ancient Noto, Jewish hypogea and a small Byzantine cemetery have been discovered (P. Orsi, in Notizie degli scavi... 1897, pp. 67–90). The patron saint of the city is St. Conrad, whose feast is celebrated on 19 February and the last Sunday in August.
Enrico Josi.