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.

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A majestic and luminous church

The Staircase of Angels

Searching for colour

Some masterpieces

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

One city, three sites

A square as the heart of the city

Many owners, one palace

The colours of the cathedral

Feasting in Palazzolo

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Prominent façade

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Maiolica of the staircase

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The city of museums

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The theatre of taste

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A small room with a golden entrance

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The two churches

The interior and its masterpieces

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The disastrous earthquake

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Baroque town by the sea

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The church of Carmine

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A hall for the feasts

The Burgos crucifix

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A city in colour

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Some prestigious works

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

One city, two sites

Norman apses

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Wonderful quick decorations

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

A feast only for Scicli

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The internal colours

A museum to save a tradition

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A long reconstruction

A half-Baroque church

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The chocolate of Modica

A colourful floor

Feast days

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

A miniature city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

New roads for Catania

A symbol for the town

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

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

Between white and black

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

An eagle-shaped city

Discovering the mother church

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

A prominent church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra