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 Baroque town by the sea

A museum to save a tradition

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A city in colour

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The disastrous earthquake

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A new site for a new city

A feast only for Scicli

A triumph of colour

The chocolate of Modica

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

One city, two sites

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

Some prestigious works

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Between white and black

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Searching for colour

The Maiolica of the staircase

A miniature city

Prominent façade

An eagle-shaped city

A prominent church

Discovering the mother church

From International Gothic to present day

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A colourful floor

A square as the heart of the city

Some masterpieces

A hall for the feasts

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

Many owners, one palace

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Norman apses

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A symbol for the town

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A small room with a golden entrance

The Burgos crucifix

The church of Carmine

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The interior and its masterpieces

A long reconstruction

The city of museums

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

One city, three sites

The theatre of taste

Feast days

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

The two churches

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A half-Baroque church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A talking palace

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Feasting in Palazzolo

Wonderful quick decorations

A new site for a new church

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

The wall comes to life

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

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

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

The Staircase of Angels