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.

A hall for the feasts

The theatre of taste

Feast days

The colours of the cathedral

A small room with a golden entrance

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A prominent church

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

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

From International Gothic to present day

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

One city, two sites

Some prestigious works

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Discovering the mother church

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

Two illustrious patron saints

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

One city, three sites

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The church of Carmine

The wall comes to life

The Burgos crucifix

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

A talking palace

The two churches

A colourful floor

The interior and its masterpieces

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A city in colour

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Many owners, one palace

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A triumph of colour

A symbol for the town

Prominent façade

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A feast only for Scicli

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Baroque town by the sea

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A majestic and luminous church

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Searching for colour

Some masterpieces

The internal colours

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A miniature city

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

An eagle-shaped city

Feasting in Palazzolo

A square as the heart of the city

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Staircase of Angels

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A long reconstruction

Norman apses

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Between white and black

New roads for Catania

A new site for a new church

The chocolate of Modica

A museum to save a tradition

The city of museums

A half-Baroque church

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra