Palazzolo Acreide

One city, three sites

Situated inland from Syracuse, Palazzolo Acreide is one of the oldest towns of the Val di Noto.
Palazzolo Acreide was also affected by the earthquake of 1693. It was reborn from its rubble, in its original place, where Baroque squares with their scenic architecture wind around the main street. Light enters the squares, animating the façades and creating chromatic contrasts.
The city features three different sites that describe its three historical periods. The medieval centre, rebuilt on top of where it stood near former Acre, was located on a rocky spur in a strategic position for controlling the territory.
There stood a “palatium”, or imperial palace, which is where the name “palatiolum” of the new town comes from. The oldest centre of the town was founded 70 years after the city of Syracuse, creating a lasting bond with it.

This new town on the plateau of the Hyblaean Mountains allowed trade between Syracuse and the other southern towns, promoting the spread of Hellenic culture in the centuries to come.
The 17th and 18th-century buildings and Baroque squares become prominent features of the main street, with their unique art and architecture. The main street leads to the ancient Greek site of Akrai which still houses the world’s smallest Greek theatre today.
The entire monumental archaeological area, which also includes the ancient theatre, is near to the fabric of the Baroque town and its great scenic importance is fundamental for discovering ancient Sicily.

foto fil di ferro Teatro Greco
Teatro Greco
The freedom of worship and the Catholic Church’s role in the diffusion of Baroque

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The Palazzo dei due mori

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The art of maiolica

The city within the city

The new roads of the city

The Church of St. Francis

The interior and works of art

The Church of St. Benedict

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

The casket of austerity under the great dome

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The senses tell the story of the Sanctuary Church of Santa Maria della Stella

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

Verticality and dynamism of the façade of the Church of San Carlo

The city palace

A story of rebirth

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The Badia di Sant’Agata (St. Agatha’s Abbey)

The two churches

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

Geometry and wonder in civic architecture in the Baroque of the Val di Noto

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

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

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

Religious architecture

The eagle-shaped city

The expansion of space and changing reality

A heritage of votive works

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The church and the college

A stone garden

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Carlo and the former Jesuit college

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

Piazza Duomo, the elephant fountain, the heart of the city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

Reconstruction after the earthquake

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The church of San Nicolò l’Arena: the majesty of an unfinished beauty

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

Luminous sacred spaces

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The Church of St. Paul

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The works in the church

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

One city, three sites

The Benedictines’ library

The articulated interior spaces

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The Franciscan convent

St. Agatha and the candelore

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The church and the monastery

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

A casket of precious works

City and nature

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

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

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

Views denied, views conquered: the power of the devout Benedictines

A unifying project for the city of Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The neo-Gothic seminary chapel: symbols, light and space

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The interior of the church: space and colour

Altars, saints and sculptural works

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Barresi-Branciforte: the lords of the fiefdom and the modernisation of the town

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and the Church of San Nicolò l’Arena

The Duomo di San Giorgio (Cathedral of St. George)

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

Art in the cathedral

The palace, the town, the church

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