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 chocolate of Modica

A museum to save a tradition

A triumph of colour

A prominent church

A majestic and luminous church

The church of Carmine

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

From International Gothic to present day

A symbol for the town

The interior and its masterpieces

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

A hall for the feasts

Feast days

Discovering the mother church

A colourful floor

The theatre of taste

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

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

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A long reconstruction

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The disastrous earthquake

A small room with a golden entrance

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

An eagle-shaped city

Between white and black

The Staircase of Angels

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

Norman apses

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A Nobel Prize in Modica

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Prominent façade

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The colours of the cathedral

The Maiolica of the staircase

A half-Baroque church

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

A talking palace

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The wall comes to life

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Burgos crucifix

The city of museums

Limestone, the colour of harmony

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Some prestigious works

Wonderful quick decorations

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The internal colours

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

One city, two sites

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A new site for a new city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A feast only for Scicli

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Some masterpieces

The Baroque town by the sea

Many owners, one palace

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The two churches

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

One city, three sites

A square as the heart of the city

A miniature city

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A city in colour

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata