Palazzolo Acreide is a place that surprises you from the moment you arrive by letting you immerse yourself in its wonderful three-thousand-year history.
The strength of Palazzolo Acreide is the variety of artistic and architectural monuments belonging to completely different historical periods.
Today Palazzolo Acreide is both a Baroque center, a UNESCO heritage site since 2002, and an archaeological site of great interest in Sicily.
The monuments that certainly deserve a visit are the churches of San Paolo and San Sebastiano, a triumph of the late Baroque and home to the most important festival in the city (that of San Sebastiano on January 20 and August 10) together with that of San Michele.
Also worth mentioning are the Cathedral of San Nicola, the Church of the Annunciation with the facade characterized by four magnificent twisted columns, i.e. twisted along the axis, and the Church of the Immaculate Conception which houses a statue of the Madonna and Child made by the sculptor Francesco Laurana in the 15th century.Finally, the best way to end the Baroque itinerary is by admiring the balcony of Palazzo Judica-Cafici, the longest Baroque balcony in the world.
Other stops not to be missed in Palazzolo Acreide are the imposing ruins of the medieval castle from the Arab-Norman-Swabian era, the Museum of Noble Traditions and the Museum of Travelers in Sicily.
Two other important museums are the House-Museum of Antonino Uccello, a renowned local ethno-anthropologist, and the Archaeological Museum of Palazzo Chaplains.
The latter connects to the archaeological site of Akrai where there are the ruins of the Greek Theater dating back to the third century BC.
Also noteworthy is the Selinuntina Archaeological Way, part of the ancient Roman road network, and the quarries of Intagliata dell’Intagliatella, rich in early Christian and Byzantine tombs including the Caves of Horses and the Senebardo.
Finally, in Palazzolo Acreide you can admire the so-called Santoni, rock sanctuaries made up of twelve figures carved in the rock between the end of the 4th and 3rd centuries BC.
They constitute the main cult center in Sicily of the Magna Mater Cibele, an ancient divinity venerated by the Romans during the period of the Punic wars.
As you can see, Palazzolo Acreide is a combination of ancient eras, history, art and culture.
Do you want to discover all this up close?
Pagamenti accettati / We Accept
We are members of