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.

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

New roads for Catania

Some masterpieces

A talking palace

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A small room with a golden entrance

Some prestigious works

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Between white and black

The chocolate of Modica

Searching for colour

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Feasting in Palazzolo

The city of museums

St. Sebastian, so much work!

One city, three sites

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A colourful floor

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Discovering the mother church

A city in colour

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The interior and its masterpieces

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 disastrous earthquake

The wall comes to life

A majestic and luminous church

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

Prominent façade

One city, two sites

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The church of Carmine

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A feast only for Scicli

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Burgos crucifix

An eagle-shaped city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A prominent church

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The two churches

A hall for the feasts

Norman apses

Wonderful quick decorations

The colours of the cathedral

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A museum to save a tradition

A new site for a new church

A symbol for the town

The internal colours

From International Gothic to present day

A triumph of colour

A half-Baroque church

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

The Baroque town by the sea

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The Staircase of Angels

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

A long reconstruction

Many owners, one palace

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

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The theatre of taste

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A square as the heart of the city

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A new site for a new city

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A miniature city

A Nobel Prize in Modica