Palazzolo Acreide

One city, three sites

Palazzolo Acreide is located further inland in Syracuse and is one of the oldest towns in the Val di Noto.Also struck by the 1693 earthquake, it was reborn from its rubble in the same location. Here the Baroque style fits in perfectly with the narrow, dense medieval streets.
Light enters the squares, making the façades and the contrasts between the colours stand out.
The town has three different construction phases that illustrate three different historical periods.
The medieval centre, which stood near former Acre, was located on a rocky spur in a strategic position for controlling the territory.
There stood a “palatium”, or imperial palace, which is probably where the name “palatiolum” of the new town came from. The oldest centre of the town was founded seventy years after the city of Syracuse, with which a lasting bond was built.
This new town on the plateau of the Hyblaean Mountains allowed trade between Syracuse and the other southern towns, promoting the spread of Hellenic culture in the centuries to come. After the tragic earthquake, the most important Baroque buildings and squares were built around the main street dedicated to Vittorio Emanuele. Palazzolo Acreide still retains some evidence of the ancient Greek city of Akrai: if you walk along Corso Vittorio Emanuele you’ll reach the Greek theatre .

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

A new site for a new city

A small room with a golden entrance

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

New roads for Catania

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The internal colours

A museum to save a tradition

A long reconstruction

The colours of the cathedral

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

From International Gothic to present day

A colourful floor

The church of Carmine

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Searching for colour

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A talking palace

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The city of museums

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A symbol for the town

The chocolate of Modica

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

One city, two sites

A hall for the feasts

Two illustrious patron saints

The wall comes to life

Many owners, one palace

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Burgos crucifix

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Between white and black

A new site for a new church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A majestic and luminous church

A prominent church

The theatre of taste

A city in colour

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

One city, three sites

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A half-Baroque church

Some prestigious works

A miniature city

The two churches

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Some masterpieces

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The disastrous earthquake

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A square as the heart of the city

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Wonderful quick decorations

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

A feast only for Scicli

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

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

Prominent façade

An eagle-shaped city

A triumph of colour

Discovering the mother church

Feast days

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Baroque town by the sea

The Staircase of Angels

The interior and its masterpieces

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Maiolica of the staircase