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 senses tell the story of the church of San Giovanni Battista

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Staircase of Angels

A colourful floor

A new site for a new city

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A prominent church

The Burgos crucifix

An eagle-shaped city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A hall for the feasts

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A triumph of colour

Limestone, the colour of harmony

One city, three sites

A miniature city

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

Discovering the mother church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Prominent façade

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Some prestigious works

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Searching for colour

A long reconstruction

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

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

The internal colours

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

The two churches

A small room with a golden entrance

A square as the heart of the city

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The city of museums

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Many owners, one palace

The church of Carmine

The colours of the cathedral

A half-Baroque church

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

From International Gothic to present day

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A majestic and luminous church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Some masterpieces

A talking palace

The disastrous earthquake

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Wonderful quick decorations

Two illustrious patron saints

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A museum to save a tradition

The Maiolica of the staircase

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The interior and its masterpieces

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A city in colour

Between white and black

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A feast only for Scicli

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Baroque town by the sea

New roads for Catania

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

One city, two sites

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

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

The chocolate of Modica

Feast days

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

Norman apses

A symbol for the town

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The theatre of taste

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The wall comes to life