Palazzolo Acreide (Sicilian: Palazzolu, in the local dialect: Palazzuolu) is a town and comune in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily (southern Italy). It is 43 kilometres (27 mi) from the city of Syracuse in the Hyblean Mountains.

This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Italian. (January 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Italian Wikipedia article at [[:it:Palazzolo Acreide]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated|it|Palazzolo Acreide}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Palazzolo Acreide
Comune
Comune di Palazzolo Acreide
View of the town from the acropolis of ancient Akrai
Location of Palazzolo Acreide
Palazzolo Acreide Location of Palazzolo Acreide in Italy Show map of Italy Palazzolo Acreide Palazzolo Acreide (Sicily) Show map of Sicily
Coordinates: 37°04′N 14°54′E
Country	Italy
Region	Sicily
Province	Syracuse (SR)
Government
• Mayor	Salvatore Gallo
Area [1]
• Total	86.34 km2 (33.34 sq mi)
Elevation	670 m (2,200 ft)
Population  (30 November 2017[2])[3]
• Total	8,668
• Density	100/km2 (260/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Palazzolesi
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	96010
Dialing code	0931
Patron saint	St. Paul
Saint day	June 29
Website	Official website
UNESCO World Heritage Site
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Part of	Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (South-Eastern Sicily)
Criteria	Cultural: (i)(ii)(iv)(v)
Reference	1024rev-006
Inscription	2002 (26th Session)
Area	1.37 ha (147,000 sq ft)
Buffer zone	33.74 ha (3,632,000 sq ft)

History

The area around Palazzolo Acreide has been inhabited since ancient times. In the 10th-11th centuries BC, the Sicels lived here in small villages. The town occupies the site of the ancient Akrai (Latin Acrae), founded by Syracuse around 664 BC. The city was important as it controlled the paths of communication between the towns on the southern coast of the island. According to Thucydides, the Syracusans defeated the Athenians here in 413 BC.

In the treaty between the Romans and Hiero II of Syracuse in 263 BC it was assigned to the latter. After the Roman conquest, it became a civitas stipendiaria, and was still prospering in the course of the early Christian age.

The old city was probably destroyed by the Arabs, in the first half of the 9th century. The new city was built around a Norman castle, which no longer exists. An earthquake in 1693 destroyed almost the entire city, which was slowly rebuilt in the following centuries.

Ancient city

The Ancient City lies on the hill above the modern town, the approach to it being defended by quarries, in which tombs of all periods have been discovered. The auditorium of the small theatre is well-preserved, though nothing of the stage remains. Nearby are the ruins of other buildings, which bear, without justification, the names Naumachia, Odeum (perhaps a bath establishment) and Palace of Hiero. The water supply was obtained by subterranean aqueducts. In the cliffs of the Monte Pineta to the south are other burial niches, and curious bas-reliefs called Santoni or Santicelli, carved in the 19th century by a peasant proprietor, which also appear to be related to funeral ceremonies. Also nearby is the necropolis of the Acrocoro della Torre, where many sarcophagi have been found. About 5 miles (8 km) north lies Buscemi, near which a sacred grotto has been discovered; and also a church cut into the rock and surrounded by a cemetery.

Economy

The economy of Palazzolo Acreide relies mainly on agriculture (cereals) and farming of cattle and sheep. The population in 2009 was approximately 9,000, on a downward trend to about 8,500 by 2019.[4]

Sports

The major football club of the comune is A.S.D. S.C. Palazzolo. It replaced A.C. Palazzolo A.S.D. which relocated elsewhere in 2013.

Main sights

This section is written like a travel guide rather than an encyclopedic description of the subject. (January 2022)

• San Sebastiano (15th century) -church rebuilt after the 17th century).
• San Paolo (18th century) -Basilica church
• Church of Santa Maria della Medaglia.
• Church of San Michele (15th to 16th centuries, rebuilt after 1693). It is a typical example of "minor Sicilian Baroque", with a notable belfry covered by a cupola.
• Church of the Assunta or Immacolata (18th century). It has a convex façade and a single nave interior, with rich decorations. It houses a statue of the Madonna, in Carrara white marble, sculpted by Francesco Laurana in 1471–72.
• Church of St. Anthony (18th century), unfinished, with a neo-Romanesque façade.
• The Chiesa Madre ("Mother Church"). The first document attesting its existence dates from 1215, when the church was dedicated to St. Nicholas. It was largely rebuilt and redecorated after the earthquake of 1693, with a Neo-classicist façade. The interior is on the Latin cross plan, with a nave and two aisles decorated with precious polychrome marbles.
• Antonino Uccello's Museum House. It houses artifacts and remains from the peasant civilization of Sicily, including working tools, glass paintings, wax statues and others.
• Palazzo Cappellani, where the Archaeological Museum is located (soon to be opened).
• Grotto of St. Conrad, a small church carved in a cliff, on the site where the hermit Corrado Confalonieri retired in the 14th century. Traces of mosaics and the base of the altar remain.
• "Il Teatro Greco di Akrai" (Ancient Greek theater)

  

Personalities

• Francesco Carpino (1905 - 1993), cardinal
• Turi Golino (1920-2000), trumpeter and composer
• Antonino Uccello (1922 - 1979), poet and anthropologist
• Giuseppe Fava (1925 - 1984), investigative journalist, playwright, essayist and antimafia activist who ultimately was murdered by the Sicilian Mafia.
• Carlo Gaetano Giuliano (1929-), politician
• Silvia Salemi (1978-), singer

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Palazzolo Acreide.

• Palazzolo Acreide (Siracusa) (in Italian)
• Official website (in Italian)
• Sites about the city (in English)
• Saint Paul (in Italian)
• Ancient Ruins (in English)
• UNESCO World Heritage Sites (in English)
• Tourist Attractions and History (in English)
• Image gallery (in Italian)

На других языках

[es] Palazzolo Acreide

[ru] Палаццоло-Акреиде