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.

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Feasting in Palazzolo

A small room with a golden entrance

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Between white and black

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The two churches

A talking palace

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

An eagle-shaped city

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The theatre of taste

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A majestic and luminous church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A new site for a new city

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A symbol for the town

The Staircase of Angels

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

From International Gothic to present day

The Baroque town by the sea

One city, three sites

The city of museums

Some prestigious works

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A long reconstruction

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

The colours of the cathedral

A feast only for Scicli

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A half-Baroque church

New roads for Catania

The internal colours

A prominent church

A museum to save a tradition

A hall for the feasts

The disastrous earthquake

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Discovering the mother church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

One city, two sites

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Norman apses

A new site for a new church

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The interior and its masterpieces

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Many owners, one palace

Searching for colour

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The wall comes to life

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A city in colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Prominent façade

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

Two illustrious patron saints

The Burgos crucifix

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Wonderful quick decorations

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

The church of Carmine

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A colourful floor

A square as the heart of the city

Feast days