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 wall comes to life

A city in colour

Wonderful quick decorations

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

A colourful floor

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Many owners, one palace

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The chocolate of Modica

The Burgos crucifix

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The internal colours

Prominent façade

One city, two sites

The Staircase of Angels

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Discovering the mother church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The theatre of taste

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

Searching for colour

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

A majestic and luminous church

New roads for Catania

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Feasting in Palazzolo

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Two illustrious patron saints

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

One city, three sites

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

The disastrous earthquake

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

From International Gothic to present day

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Between white and black

Some masterpieces

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The city of museums

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The two churches

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A miniature city

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Norman apses

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A new site for a new church

A new site for a new city

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A prominent church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A symbol for the town

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The interior and its masterpieces

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Maiolica of the staircase

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

A small room with a golden entrance

The church of Carmine

Feast days

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

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

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

A hall for the feasts

A square as the heart of the city

A feast only for Scicli

A museum to save a tradition

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A triumph of colour