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 city of museums

Feasting in Palazzolo

A square as the heart of the city

An eagle-shaped city

Norman apses

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A triumph of colour

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Prominent façade

Some masterpieces

The disastrous earthquake

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The chocolate of Modica

New roads for Catania

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A talking palace

Feast days

The Maiolica of the staircase

A feast only for Scicli

A miniature city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A city in colour

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Searching for colour

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A new site for a new church

A symbol for the town

The internal colours

A long reconstruction

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

The Staircase of Angels

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The wall comes to life

The two churches

The theatre of taste

One city, two sites

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A colourful floor

A half-Baroque church

A museum to save a tradition

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Wonderful quick decorations

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Two illustrious patron saints

Many owners, one palace

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A majestic and luminous church

Between white and black

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

The Burgos crucifix

The church of Carmine

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

One city, three sites

The Baroque town by the sea

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

A small room with a golden entrance

A prominent church

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new site for a new city

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A Nobel Prize in Modica

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The colours of the cathedral

A hall for the feasts

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Some prestigious works

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The interior and its masterpieces

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

From International Gothic to present day

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