The breakfast at Nótia Rooms, on the other hand, was amazing. Not ideal, especially when you are traveling with kids. If you have spent much time traveling around Europe, you know that the average “breakfast” is little more than coffee and some rolls or pastries. I actually told Carla that she they would have to come help me design any house we live in, because I couldn’t get enough of their style. If and when we finally settle down and buy a home, I will make sure these tiles are in it. Every room and bathroom featured different tiles, and they were all exquisite.
![noto italy noto italy](https://touristjourney.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Noto-Travel-scaled.jpg)
The beautiful tiles in the house came from Made a Mano, and were all hand painted in Caltagirone. These gorgeous stairs are also original to the home. The blue tile in the kitchen, above, is original to the home. Every detail was thoughtfully chosen, adding so much character to the home. Many of which were from their own childhood homes. While they kept some original period details, they also brought in some amazing mid-century Italian designer pieces. Clean and modern, with abundant of white space and tons of style. Then once we arrived, I called her and she and Giorgio came out to where we had parked to greet us, and help us carry our things into the B&B. Nótia Rooms could be a little challenging to find, but Carla sent me a text the day before we arrived, letting me know the best place to park. And we could still walk to the Noto cathedral in less than 5 minutes. It allowed us to feel like we were living in a true Sicilian neighborhood. The dell’Agliastrello neighborhood is now a quiet, charming area, where everyone knows each other and the neighbors are all friends. They built this neighborhood in the older style, with narrow winding alleys that could easily be closed off and protected. The construction workers who were working on the gorgeous churches and grand buildings in Noto lived in this small enclave just north of the main streets of Noto. The main part of Noto is composed of large, straight streets in a grid, that would be difficult to close off in case of an attack. So they lovingly restored it, keeping much of the original charm of the building, including the famous honey colored Noto Stone that was uncovered during renovations. But they loved the neighborhood and saw the potential in the old home. It had been abandoned for over 30 years, and was in complete disarray.
![noto italy noto italy](https://www.romeanditaly.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Siracusa-amp-Noto-Tour-03-min.jpg)
![noto italy noto italy](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/bf/c5/c2/bfc5c2fcfc6da5e2441e6891b3e455e3.jpg)
Giorgio and Carla found an old, dilapidated 18th century building just a few minute’s walk from the main street in Noto. And Noto is a beautiful little town with a great vibe. Ragusa, Modica, Scicli and Siracusa are all within an hour or so from Noto, making it a wonderful home base for exploring the region. Originally from Northern Italy, they chose Noto to open a B&B because of its ideal location in the Val de Noto. Nótia Rooms is run by the sweetest Italian couple, Giorgio and Carla. Since everything else for the trip was finalized, I had a bit of time to explore places to stay in Noto.Īnd I ended up finding the cutest bed & breakfast in all of Sicily! So I booked it and hoped for the best.īut then a few days later, once I had everything planned, I received a message from the owner of the apartment that they were having some issues with the water, and she would have to cancel our reservation. I didn’t have time to keep looking, as I also had to book flights, a rental car, and 2 other places to stay. I felt rushed, and settled on an apartment in Noto that looked really nice, but I wasn’t completely sold. Which I don’t mind at all, but it means that I couldn’t spend as much time as I like on choosing the perfect place to stay.
![noto italy noto italy](https://cdn.odysseytraveller.com/app/uploads/2020/02/Ragusa.jpg)
We planned our trip to Sicily super last minute.