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 church of Carmine

The city of museums

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Searching for colour

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A miniature city

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A feast only for Scicli

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The wall comes to life

A talking palace

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The chocolate of Modica

A colourful floor

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

The disastrous earthquake

The interior and its masterpieces

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A hall for the feasts

A museum to save a tradition

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Wonderful quick decorations

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Maiolica of the staircase

Some masterpieces

A triumph of colour

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

A symbol for the town

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Feast days

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A square as the heart of the city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

A prominent church

The colours of the cathedral

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A long reconstruction

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

The internal colours

An eagle-shaped city

New roads for Catania

One city, three sites

A half-Baroque church

A city in colour

A majestic and luminous church

Prominent façade

From International Gothic to present day

The Staircase of Angels

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

One city, two sites

The façade used as a puppet theatre

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new site for a new city

The theatre of taste

Some prestigious works

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A small room with a golden entrance

Two illustrious patron saints

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Baroque town by the sea

Discovering the mother church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Between white and black

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?