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 Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Baroque town by the sea

The chocolate of Modica

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

Feast days

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

A museum to save a tradition

Searching for colour

The Burgos crucifix

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The disastrous earthquake

A long reconstruction

Between white and black

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A colourful floor

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A talking palace

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

Two illustrious patron saints

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The internal colours

Many owners, one palace

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

New roads for Catania

Prominent façade

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The colours of the cathedral

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Feasting in Palazzolo

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Wonderful quick decorations

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The theatre of taste

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The church of Carmine

A hall for the feasts

A feast only for Scicli

The Maiolica of the staircase

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Staircase of Angels

A symbol for the town

A prominent church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Some prestigious works

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

From International Gothic to present day

The façade used as a puppet theatre

One city, three sites

A triumph of colour

The interior and its masterpieces

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A city in colour

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

One city, two sites

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The wall comes to life

An eagle-shaped city

The city of museums

Norman apses

A miniature city

A new site for a new church

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A half-Baroque church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

Discovering the mother church

A square as the heart of the city

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

The two churches

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

A small room with a golden entrance