What to see at Palazzo Acreide, itinerary including the main monuments and common places, including the Greek Theater, the San Paolo Church, the San Sebastiano Church, the Annunziata Church and Pantalica.
Tourist information
Located in the province of Syracuse on the slopes of the Iblei mountains, Palazzolo Acreide was rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake, near the place where ancient Akrai stood, one of the first colonies founded by the Syracusans.
The Church of Saints Peter and Paul, dating from the first half of the eighteenth century, has a rather articulated facade and well-stocked with interesting sculptural decorations.
A short distance away is the Annunziata Church, which includes a remarkable Baroque portal.
The Church of San Sebastiano, which dominates the square it overlooks, has an elaborate facade preceded by a magnificent staircase.
From the square take Corso Vittorio Emanuele street, where some noteworthy eighteenth-century buildings overlook, including the Palazzo Judica.
The Antonino Uccello House Museum, which preserves an interesting ethnographic collection, is open to the public only on request.
The Church of the Immaculate Conception contains a remarkable Madonna and Child, a sculpture created by Laurana in 1470.
What see
In the archaeological area of Akrai there is the Greek theater, which is a small building dating back to the third century BC, consisting of a cavea with nine wedges and a semicircular orchestral position, while the stage remains few traces.
Not far away is the Bouleuterion, composed of a square-shaped room which houses a small cavea with seats arranged in a semicircle.
The latomies of the Intagliata and Intagliatella were stone quarries altered in the Byzantine Christian period to use them as places of worship and necropolises.
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The temple of Aphrodite, located on the hill above the theater, is a building dating back to the sixth century BC. of which only the foundations are still visible.
Of particular interest is the stone quarry of the Ferali Temples and the grandiose reliefs of the Santoni, built in the third century BC. and dedicated to the cult of the goddess Cybele.
The excursions to do include that of Pantalica, one of the oldest Sicilian inhabited centers located 32 km away and corresponding to the ancient Hybla, considered of considerable historical importance in reference to the Bronze and Iron Age.
Pantalica was the seat of a small kingdom between the thirteenth and eighth centuries BC, as evidenced by the anaktoron, which develops on the top of the hill with a structure similar to that of the Mycenaean megaron.
In the surrounding area there is one of the most interesting necropolises in Sicily, also the village, which had been subsequently abandoned, was reused as a refuge in the early Middle Ages.
