Palazzolo Acreide
Palazzolo Acreide is a city in the province of Syracuse in the region of Sicily in Italy with 9041 inhabitants ( 31 December 2012). It is one of the late Baroque towns of the Val di Noto, which have been declared by Unesco as World Heritage in 2002.
Location and data
Palazzolo Acreide located 43 km south-west of Syracuse in the Iblei on Tellaro. The inhabitants work mainly in agriculture, cattle and sheep and in the dairy industry.
The neighboring municipalities are Buscemi, Canicattini Bagni, Cassaro, Floridia, Modica (RG), Noto, Syracuse, Solarino and Sortino.
History
664 BC was founded by inhabitants of the city of Syracuse, the city Akrai to protect the routes to the cities in the south and to secure trade with the hinterland of Sicily. Towards the end of Roman rule, the city lost importance. After being destroyed by the Arabs it was abandoned. In the 12th century formed a specially built by the Normans in the castle a new city, which was called Palazzolo. This was destroyed in an earthquake in 1693 and then rebuilt in the style of Sicilian Baroque.
Structures
In the resort
- Chiesa Madonna Annunziata church with a richly decorated Baroque facade
- Basilica di San Paolo, church with a façade by Vincenzo Sinatra and high bell tower
- Chiesa di San Sebastiano, Cathedral of the city with great staircase
- Palazzo Iudica, palace with one of the longest Baroque balconies Sicily
- Casa Museo di Antonino Uccello, ethnographic museum with household equipment, costumes and cabaret
- Dammusi
Outside the village
The archaeological site of the ancient city Akrai has a size of 36 ha bared up was a wide main road, which is at irregular intervals crossed by parallel side streets. The theater with views of Mount Etna was built in the 3rd century BC by Hieron II and renewed in Roman times. It was relatively small and only took about 600 visitors, but is one of the best preserved theater of antiquity. Today, lead students in May each year ancient theater plays. Preserved are also two temples, a Doric temple of Aphrodite and the Feralitempel, as well as the remains of ancient quarries with caves and tombs. In the valley of Valletta, the twelve Santoni, large stone figures are from the 3rd century BC, which were originally painted and decorated with metal ornaments and the Kybelekult served.
Sons and daughters
- Francesco Cardinal Carpino (* 1905, † 1993), archbishop of Palermo and later Cardinal
- Giuseppe Fava (* 1925, † 1984), novelist and playwright
- Silvia Salemi (born 1978 ), singer