Palazzolo Acreide

Palazzolo Acreide is a small town in the province of Siracusa, UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the entire Val di Noto. A Syracusan colony founded in the seventh century B.C. (Akrai, hence the patronymic Acreide), it has followed the general events that have marked the history of Sicily. In his magnificent artistic heritage, mostly dating from the reconstruction after the disastrous earthquake of 1693, the Baroque basilicas of St. Paul and St. Sebastian stand out. Around them, a strong historical rivalry has developed between two opposing groups of devotees who still finds expression in their processions. Worthy of note is the eighteenth-century town hall and the churches of St. Nicholas and the Annunciation. (photo: Palazzo Pizzo).