It is towards Palazzolo Acreide that you should rather direct your steps as you will not only appreciate its eighteenth century appearance, but you will also be seduced by the ruins dating to the Greek period. Gesualdo Bufalino, Fiele ibleo
As UNESCO World Heritage Site, Palazzolo Acreide is the gem of the Syracusan Hyblaean plateau without any doubts. Its territory, which was already inhabited during Protohistory, hosted the subcolony of Syracusa, Akrai. It was founded by the Syracusans on a site overlooking the Hyblaean inland in 664/663 BC. The city finally achieved the peak of its economic and monumental magnificence between the 4th and 3rd century BC. Moreover, Palazzolo Acreide is also characterised by its exceptional old part, where the intricate urban arrangement of the medieval Palatiolum – almost entirely destroyed by the 1693 earthquake – mixes with the plastic play of lights and shadows coming from its Baroque buildings and churches.
On our private guided tour, we will visit the Archaeological Park of Akrai, where you will admire one of the best preserved Greek theaters in Sicily and Southern Italy, a bouleutérion, built for the city government, the so-called Aphrodite Temple, and the great stone quarries of Intagliata and Intagliatella.
We'll then have a walk in Palazzolo Acreide, during which we will go into the ruins of the Medieval castle, and the Baroque Churches of San Paolo and San Sebastiano.
