Giovanni Battista Landolina , " Marchese di S. Alfano " , was a Sicilian landowner and intellectual instrumental in having the city of Noto removed from its former site on Mount Alveria to a more level location following the earthquake in 1693 centred on the Val di Noto . He is commemorated by a piazza in the city named in his honour . Ultimate responsibility for the re-building of Sicily at this time was however in the hands of the Spanish viceroy , Duke of Camastra ; but Landolina successfully argued his case for the rebuilding to be some 10 km . from the former site . He is credited with having designed the city with the help of three local architects . It is based on three parallel streets , interconnected by a series of narrower streets at right angles , thus producing a grid pattern , providing vistas to the three piazzas , each with their own church , the largest having a cathedral . Landolina 's town planning philosophy was based on the Baroque system , in which the town was divided according to social rank and position , the aristocracy were given the highest sites , the church the town centre , to reflect their position at the centre of one 's life , and the poor the periphery of the town where no-one else wanted to live . Later the architects Giovanni Battista Vaccarini , and Rosario Gagliardi designed many buildings in the city
earthquake in 1693
1693 Sicily earthquake
Giovanni Battista Landolina