Palazzolo Acreide

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

Located at the entrance to the archaeological site, beyond a small gateway is the Greek Theatre of Akrai. It is small and can accommodate around 600 spectators.

It is not carved into the rock, but lies on the natural slope that was previously prepared with dry stone. Its càvea is composed of 9 voussoirs and 12 steps, which, according to the rules of classic antiquity, are facing north. The space where the choir moved during theatrical performances, called the orchestra, is semi-circular in shape.
It is a unique element because other Greek theatres have a circular orchestra.
It was modified in the Roman-Imperial age. A new and wider raised scene was built, reducing the space of the orchestra, which is still intact today.
Like other structures of this type, it has excellent natural acoustics and is still used today for classical performances in the summer months.
One of the main activities organised by the Istituto Nazionale del Dramma Antico (National Institute of Ancient Drama) is an international initiative where young people become the festival’s true protagonists by staging works by ancient tragedians and playwrights.

Foto fil di ferro i cunei
I cunei
The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Maria del Monte

Art in the cathedral

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

One city, three sites

The two churches

The Franciscan convent

The works in the church

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The articulated interior spaces

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The freedom of worship and the Catholic Church’s role in the diffusion of Baroque

The new roads of the city

Barresi-Branciforte: the lords of the fiefdom and the modernisation of the town

The interior and works of art

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The Church of St. Paul

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

Luminous sacred spaces

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

A stone garden

Views denied, views conquered: the power of the devout Benedictines

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The Badia di Sant’Agata (St. Agatha’s Abbey)

Geometry and wonder in civic architecture in the Baroque of the Val di Noto

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The Duomo di San Giorgio (Cathedral of St. George)

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

A casket of precious works

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The church of San Nicolò l’Arena: the majesty of an unfinished beauty

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and the Church of San Nicolò l’Arena

The church and the monastery

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The casket of austerity under the great dome

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

The Palazzo dei due mori

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

The interior of the church: space and colour

St. Agatha and the candelore

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The city palace

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

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

Piazza Duomo, the elephant fountain, the heart of the city

The city within the city

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Carlo and the former Jesuit college

Religious architecture

The senses tell the story of the Sanctuary Church of Santa Maria della Stella

The palace, the town, the church

The Benedictines’ library

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

The art of maiolica

City and nature

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

The church and the college

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The Church of Madonna della Stella

A story of rebirth

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The Staircase of Angels

Reconstruction after the earthquake

A unifying project for the city of Catania

The eagle-shaped city

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The neo-Gothic seminary chapel: symbols, light and space

The expansion of space and changing reality

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The Church of St. Benedict

A heritage of votive works

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

Verticality and dynamism of the façade of the Church of San Carlo

The Church of St. Francis

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

Altars, saints and sculptural works

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo