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.

One city, two sites

Some masterpieces

The internal colours

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

Discovering the mother church

A colourful floor

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

A hall for the feasts

The interior and its masterpieces

The church of Carmine

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The theatre of taste

Wonderful quick decorations

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The city of museums

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

Between white and black

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Many owners, one palace

Feasting in Palazzolo

The colours of the cathedral

A museum to save a tradition

Two illustrious patron saints

The disastrous earthquake

A city in colour

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

The Staircase of Angels

Some prestigious works

Connections with other UNESCO sites

An eagle-shaped city

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Maiolica of the staircase

A small room with a golden entrance

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Norman apses

Prominent façade

A symbol for the town

The Burgos crucifix

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Baroque town by the sea

The wall comes to life

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A prominent church

Searching for colour

A long reconstruction

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

From International Gothic to present day

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The two churches

A feast only for Scicli

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A majestic and luminous church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

One city, three sites

A triumph of colour

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

New roads for Catania

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Feast days

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A new site for a new city

A half-Baroque church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A talking palace

A square as the heart of the city

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church