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.

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The chocolate of Modica

A long reconstruction

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A square as the heart of the city

Feasting in Palazzolo

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Burgos crucifix

Searching for colour

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

The interior and its masterpieces

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The disastrous earthquake

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

One city, two sites

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new site for a new church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Between white and black

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Norman apses

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

An eagle-shaped city

The two churches

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

The theatre of taste

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

New roads for Catania

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

A small room with a golden entrance

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

A colourful floor

A museum to save a tradition

Discovering the mother church

Some prestigious works

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A feast only for Scicli

A half-Baroque church

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

Prominent façade

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A new site for a new city

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A majestic and luminous church

A triumph of colour

A miniature city

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Some masterpieces

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Maiolica of the staircase

The colours of the cathedral

The city of museums

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The internal colours

Two illustrious patron saints

One city, three sites

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Wonderful quick decorations

The church of Carmine

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

The Staircase of Angels

A symbol for the town

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A hall for the feasts

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A prominent church

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

A talking palace

A city in colour

Many owners, one palace