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.

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

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The city of museums

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A symbol for the town

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The theatre of taste

A majestic and luminous church

A square as the heart of the city

A city in colour

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

A half-Baroque church

A triumph of colour

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

The church of Carmine

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

The Staircase of Angels

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Maiolica of the staircase

A hall for the feasts

A long reconstruction

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Burgos crucifix

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The wall comes to life

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Searching for colour

Feast days

A talking palace

Prominent façade

New roads for Catania

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Many owners, one palace

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Wonderful quick decorations

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A colourful floor

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

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The colours of the cathedral

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The interior and its masterpieces

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

Between white and black

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

A new site for a new church

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A museum to save a tradition

From International Gothic to present day

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A small room with a golden entrance

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Some prestigious works

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The internal colours

Some masterpieces

A feast only for Scicli

A miniature city

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Norman apses

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

One city, three sites

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A prominent church

One city, two sites

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A new site for a new city

The chocolate of Modica

The character of Badia Sant’Agata