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 colours of the cathedral

One city, three sites

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A small room with a golden entrance

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The church of Carmine

The two churches

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The interior and its masterpieces

Some prestigious works

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

The wall comes to life

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Some masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A colourful floor

Prominent façade

From International Gothic to present day

A half-Baroque church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The chocolate of Modica

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A talking palace

The Maiolica of the staircase

A symbol for the town

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

Norman apses

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A new site for a new church

An eagle-shaped city

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

A majestic and luminous church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The theatre of taste

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Feast days

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

Between white and black

A prominent church

A hall for the feasts

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

A city in colour

The façade used as a puppet theatre

New roads for Catania

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A square as the heart of the city

A long reconstruction

Feasting in Palazzolo

Many owners, one palace

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The city of museums

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

Two illustrious patron saints

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A museum to save a tradition

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A new site for a new city

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A triumph of colour

The Staircase of Angels

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The disastrous earthquake

Searching for colour

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A feast only for Scicli

One city, two sites

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public