The settlements of the Val di Noto were completely destroyed by the enormous 1693 Sicily earthquake . Following the earthquake , many towns were rebuilt on entirely new sites , such as Noto and Grammichele . The rulers of the time , the kings of Spain , granted the nobleman Giuseppe Lanza special authority to redesign the damaged towns , which he achieved by sympathetically designing the new towns in a baroque and renaissance style
1693 Sicily earthquake
1693 Sicily earthquake
Val di Noto