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.

Prominent façade

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The chocolate of Modica

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A colourful floor

A new site for a new city

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The two churches

Many owners, one palace

The church of Carmine

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

A half-Baroque church

A feast only for Scicli

A hall for the feasts

The Maiolica of the staircase

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The interior and its masterpieces

The Burgos crucifix

A symbol for the town

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

The theatre of taste

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Feast days

The internal colours

One city, three sites

A triumph of colour

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The colours of the cathedral

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The city of museums

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Baroque town by the sea

Wonderful quick decorations

New roads for Catania

A small room with a golden entrance

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

A majestic and luminous church

A new site for a new church

A prominent church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Norman apses

A miniature city

A square as the heart of the city

One city, two sites

The Staircase of Angels

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The façade used as a puppet theatre

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Between white and black

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Some prestigious works

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Searching for colour

Some masterpieces

Feasting in Palazzolo

A talking palace

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Discovering the mother church

A museum to save a tradition

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

From International Gothic to present day

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A long reconstruction

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

A city in colour

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction