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.

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

Between white and black

A museum to save a tradition

A new site for a new church

Norman apses

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Wonderful quick decorations

The two churches

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A miniature city

Feast days

A triumph of colour

The theatre of taste

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Two illustrious patron saints

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

The internal colours

The chocolate of Modica

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

Some masterpieces

Searching for colour

The church of Carmine

The disastrous earthquake

The colours of the cathedral

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A symbol for the town

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Burgos crucifix

The interior and its masterpieces

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

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

A talking palace

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Feasting in Palazzolo

A city in colour

A half-Baroque church

Many owners, one palace

Prominent façade

New roads for Catania

The wall comes to life

An eagle-shaped city

Connections with other UNESCO sites

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A Nobel Prize in Modica

One city, three sites

A hall for the feasts

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

Some prestigious works

A colourful floor

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A majestic and luminous church

One city, two sites

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A square as the heart of the city

The Staircase of Angels

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

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Discovering the mother church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A new site for a new city

The Baroque town by the sea

A long reconstruction

A prominent church

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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