Netum was a considerable ancient town in the south of Sicily. Its current site is at the località of Noto Antica, in the modern comune of Noto.
As a treaty was concluded in 263 BCE between the Romans and King Hieron II of Syracuse, Netum was noticed as one of the cities left in subjection to that monarch. Ptolemy is the last ancient writer that mentions the name; but there is no doubt that it continued to exist throughout the Middle Ages; and under the Norman kings rose to be a place of great importance, and the capital of the southern province of Sicily, to which it gave the name of Val di Noto. But having suffered repeatedly from earthquakes, the inhabitants were induced to emigrate to a site nearer the sea, where they founded the modern city of Noto, in 1703.
The old site is on the summit of a lofty hill about 14 km from the modern town and 20 km from the sea-coast: some remains of the ancient amphitheatre, and of a building called a gymnasium, are still visible, and a Greek inscription, which belongs to the time of Hieron II.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.