Description of the attraction
Palazzolo Acreide is a small town located in the Ibleian Mountains, 43 km from the city of Syracuse. Its territory has been inhabited by people since time immemorial. In the 11-10th centuries BC. Siculs lived here in numerous small villages. The current city is located on the site of the ancient settlement of Akray, founded by the Syracuseans around 664 BC. Acray was of great strategic importance as it controlled the main roads on the southern coast of Sicily. According to the ancient Greek historian Thucydides, it was here that the Syracusans defeated the Athenians in 413 BC. Under a treaty concluded in 263 BC. between the Romans and Hieron II of Syracuse, Acrae was transferred to the latter. During the early years of the Christian era, the city flourished. Most likely, it was destroyed by the Arabs in the first half of the 9th century. Later, a new city was built around the old Norman castle, now defunct. And the terrible earthquake of 1693 again destroyed Akrai, which was slowly recovering over the next centuries.
Among the main attractions of the modern Palazzolo Acreide are the numerous churches: San Paolo, built in the 18th century, Santa Maria della Medalla, San Sebastian, San Michele with its impressive bell tower topped with a dome, Sant Antonio with its unfinished neo-Romanesque façade, the Assunta church with with a convex facade and rich decorations. The latter contains a statue of the Madonna in white Carrara marble, made in 1471-1472 by the sculptor Francesco Laurana. The Chiesa Madre church, dating from the 13th century, was once dedicated to Saint Nicholas. It was significantly rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake. The House-Museum of Antonino Uccello contains a collection of objects related to the peasant history of Sicily - tools, stained glass, wax figures, etc. And in Palazzo Cappellani there is a local Archaeological Museum. Finally, it is worth paying attention to the Grotto of Saint Conrad - a small church carved into the rock, in which the hermit Corrado Confalonieri lived in the 14th century. Fragments of mosaics and the remains of an altar have been preserved here.
The ruins of the ancient city of Acrai can still be seen today on the top of the hill above the modern Palazzolo Acreide. On the way to it there are quarries with numerous graves from different periods. The auditorium of a small theater is well preserved, but nothing remains of the stage. Nearby are the ruins of buildings that may have been thermal baths. To the south, in the rocks of Monte Pineta, more traces of burials were found, and next to them are curious bas-reliefs called Santoni or Santicelli. In the 19th century, they were badly damaged by a local peasant. Nearby is the necropolis of Acrocoro della Torre with numerous sarcophagi. 5 miles to the north lies the village of Buscemi, next to which a sacred grotto and a church carved into the rock and surrounded by a cemetery were discovered.
