Acireale Destination in Sicily · Province of Catania

Acireale is a baroque town of about 50,000 people on the Cyclops Riviera, on Sicily's east coast, set on the southern slopes of Etna and facing the Ionian Sea. Most visitors come for the churches around Piazza Duomo, the Santa Venera thermal park and the carnival with its flower floats.

Baroque churches in Acireale's center

The town lies in the Catania metropolitan area and has so many churches that it is also called the “city of a hundred bells.” Much of what stands today was built after the 1693 earthquake, which struck southeastern Sicily. Large parts of Acireale were rebuilt in its aftermath.

Two churches share Piazza Duomo. One is the cathedral, dedicated to the Annunciation. The other is the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, which became a minor basilica in 1933. The Basilica of San Sebastiano is regarded as a major work of Sicilian baroque. Palazzo Musmeci, an 18th-century building, and the Pinacoteca Zelantea, the town's picture gallery, are also worth a stop.

Thermal park, gardens and the La Timpa cliffs

The Santa Venera thermal baths opened in 1873, and their park is one of the town's two main green spaces. The other is Villa Belvedere, a public garden known for its views.

Between the town and the sea is the La Timpa nature reserve, a cliff of volcanic rock that rises 80 to 150 meters above the water. Below it, the municipality takes in coastal hamlets such as Santa Maria la Scala, Santa Caterina and Santa Tecla.

Allegorical floats and flower floats

Along with Sciacca, Acireale is one of Sicily's carnival towns. Its carnival first appears in the records in a payment order from 1594. The parades include floats with allegorical figures and flower floats, which have been covered in fresh blooms since 1930.

The route follows Corso Italia, Corso Savoia and Corso Umberto and ends at three squares: Piazza Duomo, Piazza Indirizzo and Piazza Porta Gusmana. The dates change every year and are published by the town.

Puppet theater, lemons and a legend

Acireale keeps the Opera dei Pupi alive. This Sicilian puppet theater tradition is recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage. The slopes of Etna also produce the lemons sold as Limone dell'Etna, which have held the EU protected geographical indication (PGI) since November 2020.

The town's name goes back to the legend of Acis and Galatea, in which the sea nymph Galatea loves the shepherd Acis and the jealous Cyclops Polyphemus kills him. Acireale got its present name in 1642 from King Philip IV of Spain.

Getting there

Acireale sits on the Messina–Catania railway line and has its own exit on the A18 highway. The center around Piazza Duomo is easy to cover on foot, since the cathedral, the basilicas and the palazzi are close together.

Who Acireale suits

If you're interested in baroque architecture, you'll find several important churches within a few streets of each other. For the sea, head to La Timpa and the coastal hamlets. Anyone planning a carnival visit should check the town's calendar first, as the dates move from year to year.