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.

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A prominent church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The wall comes to life

The interior and its masterpieces

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The two churches

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Staircase of Angels

The Burgos crucifix

A symbol for the town

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

An eagle-shaped city

A long reconstruction

A feast only for Scicli

The chocolate of Modica

A talking palace

A new site for a new church

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Prominent façade

A new site for a new city

Discovering the mother church

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

The internal colours

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

A hall for the feasts

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

One city, two sites

Norman apses

The Baroque town by the sea

The city of museums

Some masterpieces

Feasting in Palazzolo

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The colours of the cathedral

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The disastrous earthquake

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Wonderful quick decorations

A small room with a golden entrance

A city in colour

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Two illustrious patron saints

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

Between white and black

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

From International Gothic to present day

One city, three sites

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

Many owners, one palace

The church of Carmine

Some prestigious works

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A colourful floor

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Feast days

A majestic and luminous church

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A museum to save a tradition

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A miniature city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A triumph of colour

New roads for Catania

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The theatre of taste

A square as the heart of the city