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 Nobel Prize in Modica

The colours of the cathedral

Norman apses

Some prestigious works

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Staircase of Angels

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Many owners, one palace

The internal colours

Wonderful quick decorations

Prominent façade

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Maiolica of the staircase

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Discovering the mother church

Feast days

A small room with a golden entrance

The two churches

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A long reconstruction

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The interior and its masterpieces

A new site for a new church

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A museum to save a tradition

A new site for a new city

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Two illustrious patron saints

A symbol for the town

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

The theatre of taste

A half-Baroque church

The Burgos crucifix

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A triumph of colour

An eagle-shaped city

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A talking palace

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

From International Gothic to present day

A majestic and luminous church

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A colourful floor

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The Baroque town by the sea

One city, two sites

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A square as the heart of the city

A city in colour

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

Some masterpieces

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

The wall comes to life

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The chocolate of Modica

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

A miniature city

Feasting in Palazzolo

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Between white and black

One city, three sites

The church of Carmine

A feast only for Scicli

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A hall for the feasts