Noto Antica and le Concerie August 2008

While staying in Noto, I was able to visit Noto Antica and le Concerie. The town of Noto was completely rebuilt following the total destruction of the old city after an earthquake in 1693. Noto Antica is the site of the old city left as it was after the earthquake. There’s an eerie silence about the place, and some bits of walls and houses are still standing, and trees and shrubs have grown over all of the rubble. Within Noto Antica is the Concerie, which is an old, well-preserved tannery that was completely carved out of the rock in the hillsides during the time of the Arab occupation of Sicily, from about 827 to 1061 AD. For years this area was so overrun with debris and thick shrubbery that it was impenetrable, but the forest service has recently cleared out an area so people can go down and explore the many rooms of the tannery. When I went this day I could see that the systems still function even now. I saw that many of the carved out basins contained fresh water, which shows the system still carries water from the nearby stream into the tannery, after so much time! Here are some pictures of both Noto Antica and the Concerie…enjoy!