Palazzolo Acreide

The two churches

The two main churches of Palazzolo Acreide, the Church of San Paolo (St. Paul) and the Church of San Sebastiano (St. Sebastian), are excellent examples of the particular late Baroque style.
  
They stand out from the other buildings in the town and hold particular significance.
Each with their own style, they form a theatrical setting that characterises the town space, so much so that their surrounding districts are named after them.
The great value of the two religious buildings is given by the interesting architectural features and the rich, elaborate decorations preserved inside. Both were rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake to demonstrate the wealth possessed by the local confraternities.
Religious feasts are very popular in Palazzolo Acreide! They take place from June to October and are dedicated to the town’s patron saints.
The feast of St. Paul the Apostle (29th June) ) has very ancient origins, is internationally celebrated and attracts thousands of worshippers and tourists every year. The same can be said of the feast in honour of St. Sebastian to whom almost the entire month of August is dedicated.

The senses tell the story of the church of Santa Maria del Carmelo

Freedom of worship and the role of the Catholic Church in the diffusion of Baroque

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Church of San Giuliano (St. Julian) on Via dei Crociferi: reconstruction

A new site for a new city

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and San NicoIò l’Arena

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The wall comes to life

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Baroque town by the sea

The chocolate of Modica

The internal colours

A miniature city

A city in colour

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The two churches

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Burgos crucifix

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A prominent church

Feast days

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The city of museums

The senses tell the Mother Church of San Nicolò and of the Santissimo Salvatore

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The colours of the cathedral

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

An eagle-shaped city

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A colourful floor

Many owners, one palace

Feasting in Palazzolo

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Limestone, the colour of harmony

From the contrast of the exterior to the internal jubilation of colours

A square as the heart of the city

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The role of the religious orders in rebuilding the Val di Noto

New roads for Catania

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giuliano ai Crociferi

Wonderful quick decorations

Two illustrious patron saints

A small room with a golden entrance

Prominent façade

A majestic and luminous church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Some prestigious works

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A triumph of colour

One city, three sites

A half-Baroque church

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A museum to save a tradition

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giovanni Battista

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell the story of the staircase of Santa Maria del Monte

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Staircase of Angels

A symbol for the town

A feast only for Scicli

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Some masterpieces

From International Gothic to present day

A hall for the feasts

The church of Carmine

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Badia di Sant’Agata

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The theatre of taste

The disastrous earthquake

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Norman apses

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

One city, two sites

A talking palace

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Maiolica of the staircase