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 Santa Maria del Carmelo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

A square as the heart of the city

The chocolate of Modica

Many owners, one palace

A symbol for the town

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A colourful floor

A feast only for Scicli

A hall for the feasts

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Some prestigious works

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A small room with a golden entrance

The Burgos crucifix

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

Some masterpieces

Discovering the mother church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The internal colours

A new site for a new church

The wall comes to life

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A majestic and luminous church

An eagle-shaped city

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A museum to save a tradition

A triumph of colour

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Feast days

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

New roads for Catania

Searching for colour

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

From International Gothic to present day

A long reconstruction

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The colours of the cathedral

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Norman apses

The city of museums

A prominent church

Between white and black

A new site for a new city

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Staircase of Angels

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

A city in colour

A talking palace

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Prominent façade

Two illustrious patron saints

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The two churches

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

The theatre of taste

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

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

One city, three sites

One city, two sites

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The interior and its masterpieces

A half-Baroque church

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