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.

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Feasting in Palazzolo

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A small room with a golden entrance

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Norman apses

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The chocolate of Modica

One city, three sites

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The theatre of taste

The city of museums

Searching for colour

A square as the heart of the city

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

From International Gothic to present day

Between white and black

A miniature city

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

One city, two sites

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A symbol for the town

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The church of Carmine

A prominent church

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A city in colour

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Maiolica of the staircase

An eagle-shaped city

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A long reconstruction

Some masterpieces

The Staircase of Angels

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A feast only for Scicli

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Discovering the mother church

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

A talking palace

Feast days

The disastrous earthquake

The Burgos crucifix

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

The Baroque town by the sea

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A majestic and luminous church

A museum to save a tradition

A hall for the feasts

The two churches

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The wall comes to life

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Prominent façade

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A new site for a new church

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The internal colours

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

The colours of the cathedral

Two illustrious patron saints

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

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

New roads for Catania

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

Some prestigious works

The interior and its masterpieces

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A new site for a new city

A colourful floor