Cultural Preservation in Noto

After a couple of days in the Italian Alps, we took a flight down to Sicily, our last destination in Italy. I had no idea what to expect in Sicily, so I was happily surprised to step off the plane to warm sunny weather. On the bus ride from the airport to the villa we were staying at, it was immediately clear to me that Sicily was a destination completely different than any of the places we have been so far. That is probably my favorite feature about this study away trip in Italy. Every region we spend time in is completely different from the one before it in a variety of ways. Sicily boasts a much flatter and drier looking geography. It was obvious right away that this is a region that thrives on the sun for its lifestyle, vegetation, and tourism.

On our first day of exploration in Sicily, we visited three different towns that were devastated by an earthquake and rebuilt in a unique architectural style called baroque in the 16^th century. The article I read during this time was about one of these towns in particular, Noto, which is struggling to find funding for the upkeep and preservation of its cultural heritage sites. We visited these sites while touring the town that consisted of cathedrals and monuments and found they were both beautiful and unique. Standing on the shoulders of cultural giants such as Rome, Florence, Naples, and Venice, regions in Italy such as Noto often get overlooked in a tourist’s eye and therefore struggle economically. In the article the author proposed the idea of charging a user entry fee for tourists to enter the cultural district to generate funds. This is a controversial idea because some people feel it is their right to view these cultural locations free of charge. To test out the impact of this idea, a survey was taken from a mix of 560 Italian and foreign tourists in the year 2000 in Noto that asked the surveyor whether or not they would be willing to pay an entrance fee to enter the cultural district. The survey concluded with around 20 votes for a flat out no, while the others voted yes in varying degrees. However, when we visited the cultural district we still paid no entry fee.

The fact that we paid nothing despite the hugely positive results of the survey puzzled me. If Noto is struggling with funding, and the survey clearly stated it could work from a tourist’s point of view, what is stopping them from implementing such a policy? We discussed this issue as a class and with a professor at the University of Catania and determined it was most likely due to the political implications of implementing such a policy. How would you keep the locals happy with a change like this? How would the money generated from entry be distributed among those who need it or feel entitled to it? These factors, along with many others, create large barriers that inhibit the development of an idea such as this. It would be a shame if no solution is found for Noto and the cultural sections crumble away over time, especially after seeing the depth and beauty they hold while visiting.

-Tyler Larson