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.

Between white and black

Prominent façade

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A long reconstruction

The colours of the cathedral

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A city in colour

The façade used as a puppet theatre

New roads for Catania

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A majestic and luminous church

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A square as the heart of the city

The internal colours

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The two churches

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The wall comes to life

One city, two sites

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A new site for a new church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Searching for colour

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

A miniature city

A new site for a new city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

Some masterpieces

The city of museums

The Staircase of Angels

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

The Burgos crucifix

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The chocolate of Modica

A feast only for Scicli

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

One city, three sites

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

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

An eagle-shaped city

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

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Feast days

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

Two illustrious patron saints

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Wonderful quick decorations

A small room with a golden entrance

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A talking palace

A symbol for the town

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

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

Many owners, one palace

A prominent church

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

A museum to save a tradition

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A half-Baroque church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Discovering the mother church

The church of Carmine

A colourful floor

The interior and its masterpieces

A triumph of colour

The disastrous earthquake

The theatre of taste

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Some prestigious works

A hall for the feasts