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Palazzolo Acreide The city of
Palazzolo Acreide (Siracusa). Useful information,
baroque photo gallery, churches and more...
Akrai
The archaeological site of Akrai, city founded
by the Greeks of Siracusa in the 664 a.C.
Palazzolo Acreide (SR)
House-museum of Antonino Uccello Informative website about
the ethnoantropologist Antonino Uccello and
virtual visit of the House-museum of Palazzolo
Acreide (SR)
IBLEI.it Touristic portal website
about Siracusa and Ragusa. Archaeological,
ethnoantropological, historical, artistic,
naturalistic route
Late baroque towns of the Val di Noto (South
eastern Sicily)
World Heritage List UNESCO
The eight towns in south-eastern Sicily:
Caltagirone, Militello Val di Catania, Catania,
Modica, Noto, Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa and
Scicli. The towns of the Val di Noto represent
the culmination and final flowering of Baroque
art in Europe
(text by
Giuseppe Matarazzo – photos Sikania archive, G. Iacono,
G. Matarazzo)
Stone as a symbol. Stone as art, culture, the history of
a land and a people. Churches, palaces, historic areas:
in towns and villages in the provinces of Ragusa,
Syracuse and Catania, in the fascinating system of the
Iblei mountains, stone is the unchallenged protagonist.
Stone gilded by the sun becomes a spectacle: ledges,
columns, imposing facades, cornices and friezes, or even
simply alleys with unique architectonic details. It is
the garden of stone, the cradle of the baroque, that has
enchanted remarkable personages, and that UNESCO last
June declared to be world heritage, identifying eight
towns and villages seen as representing the whole area:
Noto, Palazzolo Acreide, Catania, Caltagirone, Militello
Val di Catania, Ragusa, Modica and Scicli. These are
places in which, amid little alleys, houses leaning
against one another, suddenly churches and mansions
appear with wonderful architectonic features.
Very fine capitals and reliefs enrapturing the visitor.
Alleys climbing up hills from which we find ourselves
looking at a natural crib. Alleys, “junctions of houses
that call one another softly,” as the Nobel prize winner
Quasimodo – born in Modica – put it. Alleys reminding us
of past times... “a loom beat in the courtyard and in
the night a crying of puppies and children was heard.”
Here time has stopped. Art and traditions, the
environment and the people who experience it are tied by
a strong, indivisible bond. These alleys contain
precious pearls of inestimable value. There is a stone
that speaks, telling history and stories.
Noto cathedral, whose cupola has collapsed, for years
represented the image of a declining baroque, of lack of
attention to this patrimony. There still remains a deep
open wound, but today for the baroque it is the moment
of rebirth. There is great ferment. Precisely in order
to valorize the whole area, the Regional Ministry for
the Cultural Heritage wants to set up a cultural
district regarding the three provinces of Syracuse,
Ragusa and Catania, united by common roots, by culture,
by the talent of those forefathers that succeeded, after
the tragic earthquake of 1693, in reconstructing whole
towns, enriching them with remarkable works. The stone
changes, from the honey-coloured stone of Ragusa to that
alternation of calcareous white and lavic black of the
Catania area, but the effect is at any rate strong, the
result wonderful.
Exceptional scenographies enriching the towns of
south-eastern Sicily. Characterised by masterpieces of
architecture and intelligent urbanistic systems, these
places represent a fundamental resource for the whole
island. The future for this places is in their capacity
to use to the full the riches that are preserved in
their stones. Quality tourism. Cultural tourism. Tourism
looking to the identity of a people that is mirrored in
these stones and speaks with them, shouting out its
history and culture.
A charming itinerary has been worked out through these
towns and villages. When you get onto the road leading
to Ragusa and you find yourself face to face with Ibla,
you cannot fail to be enchanted. Going into the alleys
you lose the dimension of time. Every street has
something to show you: a simple aedicule, a flight of
steps, a balcony, a church. You go up scenographic
flights of steps into a world that seems forgotten, but
which suddenly emanates presences, life.
Here everything is so simple and at the same time so
remarkable. Over the roofs there looms up the little
cupolaof the Idria church. Then along the route there is
an endless succession of churches as you go down into
the heart of Ibla with its best-known monuments. You see
in all its imposingness the San Giorgio cathedral. A
bijou, one of the best-known symbols of baroque
architecture.
Like the other cathedral dedicated to St. George, in
Modica. A surprising town, placed amid the ridges on the
hills that surround it, forming a true natural
amphitheatre. The Modica cathedral is rich in stuccoes
and other important works of art. Something particularly
precious is the 19th –century organ with over five
thousand reeds, one of the most outstanding exemplars in
the region. In lower Modica, something highly
scenographic is the flight of steps with the statues of
the twelve apostles at the San Pietro cathedral. Also
very fine are Palazzo Polara and Palazzo Napolina.
At Scicli, which is at the junction of three valleys, we
find an architectural treasure of particular value. The
mansions and churches that stand in Via Mormino Penna
are an expression of the best Sicilian baroque. Among
them there stand out Palazzo Beneventano and the facades
of the San Giovanni Evangelista, San Michele and Santa
Teresa churches.
A pearl of the baroque in Syracuse province, in addition
to the enormous number of vestiges at Ortygia, is
Palazzolo Acreide, characterised by an elegant
thoroughfare in which there are significant 18th –
century mansions and churches. The main square is
dominated by the San Sebastiano church, which you get to
up a fine flight of steps. Also particularly effective
are the San Paolo church and the splendid portal of the
Annunziata church. One should admire the patrician
mansions along Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the “drawing
room” of the little town in the Iblei. Palazzo Judica is
very elegant and rich in decorations. As in other towns
and villages, one is struck by the supports of the
balconies with depictions of animals, with putti, with
strange figures and monsters that, according to popular
belief, kept away bad luck and the evil eye.
There is also fine baroque in Catania and other places
at the foot of Etna. The provincial capital has
countless churches, mansions and statues bearing witness
to a high-quality artistic vitality. From lava, a symbol
of destruction, people got the stone which is in fact
the symbol of the reconstruction and art of the city.
The symbol of the baroque in Catania is certainly Piazza
Duomo, so harmoniously surrounded by splendid mansions.
One should notice the Elephant Fountain, consisting of
an elephant in lavic stone holding up an Egyptian
obelisk, and the Sant'Agata cathedral, with a splendid
façade and a side face, in addition to the magnificent
Town Hall. Also noteworthy are the superb Palazzo
Biscari, the scenographic Via dei Crociferi and the
Benedictine monastery.
In the Catania area, truly precious objects are
preserved at Militello, a garden of seventeenth-century
monuments adorning the slopes of the Iblei mountains,
looking out over the Catania plain.
Other interesting expressions of the baroque, enriched
by wonderful ceramics, are at Caltagirone. In sum, in
the Val di Noto, following routes that are geometrically
marked out by the very particular drystone walls, amid
olive groves, carobs, citrus orchards and almond trees,
you come across towns and villages in which everything
speaks baroque.
A triumph of decorations and architectural details, a
vital expression of the verve that characterised
reconstruction after the earthquake of 1693. This is a
land that found the strength to rise up again from that
tragedy, constructing masterpieces that give the visitor
the impression that he or she is an immense outdoor
museum.
Inclusion
in the prestigious World Heritage List UNESCO
"Late
Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto": Caltagirone, Militello
Val of Catania, Catania, Modica, Famous, Palazzolo Acreide,
Ragusa Ibla, Scicli.
An
archaeological zone between most ancient in the Italian
panorama, with a beautiful greek theatre, roman-hellenistic
road.
One of the most famous and appreciated attractions of
Palazzolo Acreide is certainly "House-museum of Antonino
Uccello). During
the years of passionate and hard work, the Sicilian
ethnologist, has collected and put in order interesting
testimonies and precious materials about the life and folk
wisdom.
The
site hosts 12 large reliefs called "Santoni". It is the
greatest sanctuary to date uncovered, dedicated to the cult
of the oriental goddess of fertility Cibeles.
The
ruins of the Norman castle and the surrounding medieval
urban planning structure.
An
historical center of great architectonic value, strongly
characterized from a Baroque architecture, fruit of the
reconstruction post-earthquake of 1693 and, subsequently,
from the season of the Art Noveau.
The
religious manifestations like the festivity of S. Paul and
S. Sebastiano, known in all the Sicily.
International
Youth Festival of Classical Theatre.
Every year, during May, at greek theatre many groups of
highschools students from all over Italy and the rest of
Europe perform tragedies and comedy by classical authors.
The
several exhibitions proposed by the House-museum "Antonino
Uccello", the agricultural and food- Review of the products
and typical food... and more...
Carnival
is very lively in Palazzolo Acreide and is one of the oldest
in Sicily. As well as the parade of the allegorical cars and
groups dressed up, you may taste in various food festivals
the typical Palazzolo's food products like the sausage,
trout pastry, macaroni, cavatieddi (a typical local pasta)
and cannoli.
A
extremely varied landscape, with the Natural Reserve
of Cava Grande and the Natural Reserve of the
Anapo-Pantalica.
The
presence, in the beam of little kilometers, archaeological
and historical important archaeological zone like Kasmenai,
Ancient Avola, Castelluccio, Pantalica, the several
bizantine churches, etc.
The
St. Lucia watermill, is one of the four water-mills started
by the torrent Purbella. It dates back to the XVI century.
It is perfectly kept, plunged in an uncontaminated valley,
shaded by oak-trees and walnut-trees.Inside the building is
the Museum of the Millstone where permanent displays and
millstones of different shapes illustrate the development of
the cereals grindind technique, from pre-history up to
hydraulic energy.
Inclusion
in the prestigious World Heritage List UNESCO
"Late
Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto": Caltagirone, Militello
Val of Catania, Catania, Modica, Famous, Palazzolo Acreide,
Ragusa Ibla, Scicli.
An
archaeological zone between most ancient in the Italian
panorama, with a beautiful greek theatre, roman-hellenistic
road.
The
site hosts 12 large reliefs called "Santoni". It is the
greatest sanctuary to date uncovered, dedicated to the cult
of the oriental goddess of fertility Cibeles.
The
ruins of the Norman castle and the surrounding medieval
urban planning structure.
An
historical center of great architectonic value, strongly
characterized from a Baroque architecture, fruit of the
reconstruction post-earthquake of 1693 and, subsequently,
from the season of the Art Noveau.
The
religious manifestations like the festivity of S. Paul and
S. Sebastiano, known in all the Sicily.
International
Youth Festival of Classical Theatre.
The
several exhibitions proposed by the House-museum "Antonino
Uccello", the agricultural and food- Review of the products
and typical food... and more...
Carnival
is very lively in Palazzolo Acreide and is one of the oldest
in Sicily. As well as the parade of the allegorical cars and
groups dressed up, you may taste in various food festivals
the typical Palazzolo's food products like the sausage,
trout pastry, macaroni, cavatieddi (a typical local pasta)
and cannoli.
A
extremely varied landscape, with the Natural Reserve
of Cava Grande and the Natural Reserve of the
Anapo-Pantalica.
The
presence, in the beam of little kilometers, archaeological
and historical important archaeological zone like Kasmenai,
Ancient Avola, Castelluccio, Pantalica, the several
bizantine churches, etc.
