The Late Baroque towns of the Val di Noto, in South-eastern Sicily (Caltagirone, Militello Val di Catania, Catania, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo, Ragusa and Scicli) represent the culmination and final flowering of Baroque art in Europe.

The earthquake of 1693, which completely destroyed the medieval towns, gave the architects the chance to carry out re-building plans on a large scale: these new towns and cities were therefore redesigned according to renaissance and baroque town planning, with streets crossing each other either in a right angle or starting from major urban sites like squares with a radial pattern. Major buildings like churches, cloisters and palaces were built in order to give the streets a focal point and a majestic perspective.