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 city in colour

New roads for Catania

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A talking palace

The theatre of taste

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Discovering the mother church

A majestic and luminous church

Feast days

A new site for a new church

The interior and its masterpieces

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

Prominent façade

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

From International Gothic to present day

The two churches

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The wall comes to life

A triumph of colour

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A feast only for Scicli

The internal colours

An eagle-shaped city

One city, three sites

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The city of museums

A museum to save a tradition

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Burgos crucifix

A half-Baroque church

A colourful floor

Some prestigious works

A prominent church

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The church of Carmine

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A Nobel Prize in Modica

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A symbol for the town

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A new site for a new city

Norman apses

Some masterpieces

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Staircase of Angels

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

Searching for colour

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

The colours of the cathedral

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Two illustrious patron saints

The chocolate of Modica

One city, two sites

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Many owners, one palace

A square as the heart of the city

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A small room with a golden entrance

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A miniature city

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A long reconstruction

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

Between white and black

A hall for the feasts

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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