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.

A triumph of colour

The theatre of taste

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

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

A small room with a golden entrance

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The disastrous earthquake

Many owners, one palace

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A new site for a new city

A talking palace

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Some masterpieces

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new site for a new church

Norman apses

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

A symbol for the town

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Feasting in Palazzolo

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The interior and its masterpieces

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

An eagle-shaped city

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The two churches

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

One city, two sites

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A museum to save a tradition

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Staircase of Angels

The Burgos crucifix

Wonderful quick decorations

New roads for Catania

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A majestic and luminous church

A colourful floor

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

A prominent church

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Prominent façade

Searching for colour

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The internal colours

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Discovering the mother church

From International Gothic to present day

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

The church of Carmine

The wall comes to life

The city of museums

A long reconstruction

The colours of the cathedral

One city, three sites

A half-Baroque church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A square as the heart of the city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A feast only for Scicli

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A miniature city

Feast days

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

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

A hall for the feasts

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Between white and black