Palazzolo Acreide

One city, three sites

Palazzolo Acreide is located further inland in Syracuse and is one of the oldest towns in the Val di Noto.Also struck by the 1693 earthquake, it was reborn from its rubble in the same location. Here the Baroque style fits in perfectly with the narrow, dense medieval streets.
Light enters the squares, making the façades and the contrasts between the colours stand out.
The town has three different construction phases that illustrate three different historical periods.
The medieval centre, which 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 probably where the name “palatiolum” of the new town came from. The oldest centre of the town was founded seventy years after the city of Syracuse, with which a lasting bond was built.
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. After the tragic earthquake, the most important Baroque buildings and squares were built around the main street dedicated to Vittorio Emanuele. Palazzolo Acreide still retains some evidence of the ancient Greek city of Akrai: if you walk along Corso Vittorio Emanuele you’ll reach the Greek theatre .

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

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

A city in colour

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Between white and black

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

The theatre of taste

One city, three sites

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A triumph of colour

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A long reconstruction

A talking palace

A feast only for Scicli

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Prominent façade

A colourful floor

The chocolate of Modica

Feast days

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Searching for colour

A museum to save a tradition

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Baroque town by the sea

The wall comes to life

A small room with a golden entrance

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The two churches

A half-Baroque church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

From International Gothic to present day

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Wonderful quick decorations

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

A hall for the feasts

Two illustrious patron saints

The colours of the cathedral

The city of museums

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A symbol for the town

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The interior and its masterpieces

One city, two sites

An eagle-shaped city

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

New roads for Catania

The Staircase of Angels

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

Discovering the mother church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Burgos crucifix

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The internal colours

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A new site for a new city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

A majestic and luminous church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The church of Carmine

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Maiolica of the staircase

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

A prominent church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The disastrous earthquake

A miniature city

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?