Sicily. Part 6. Acireale
Sicily. Part 1. Giardini Naxos >>>
On the last day of our May voyage, we went to the town of Acireale. We chose the city in such a way as to meet within half a day, and devote the evening to shopping and preparing for tomorrow's departure home. There are no bus routes from Giardini Naxos there, so we took the train to the station and back on the city bus. The train station at Taormina-Giardini station is a very pretty, two-story Art Nouveau building.
The new station building was built in two years and received passengers in 1928. The station is almost by the sea, at the foot of the mountain.
The walls and ceilings are decorated with frescoes and bas-reliefs by the Palermo artist Salvatore Gregorietti. The paintings contain Arabic ornaments. Forged chandeliers were made according to the sketches of the same Salvatore Gregorietti.
Aireale is not far away, about 25 minutes in the direction of Catania, which is another 10 minutes drive. The name of the city, as well as several other cities with similar names, comes from the ancient Greek mythological hero Achi (Akis), until the 15th century it was a simple village called Achi Aquilia. Now it is the main among Achi-cities (with similar names - Achicostello, Achikatena, etc. ), and the most densely populated. Acireale received his status of "reale", that is, "royal", in 1642 from King Philip IV of Spain,
who thus noted the strategic, economic and political importance of the city.
Acireale was also badly damaged and rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake. Today the city is known for its thermal spas and its annual carnival in February.
The station is not located close to the central part of the city. The city is located on a 150-meter hill, so from the station you need to climb up about a kilometer, about 20-25 minutes.
We walk along the central street with old houses, Via Vittorio Emmanuel II, along which aristocratic palaces and churches are built.
Church of Mary Magdalene:
At the crossroads of Via Galatea, the Church of Santa Maria del Carmelo, built in 1554, rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693. The current faç ade is from the late 18th century.
The oldest church in the city is St. Anthony of Padua, built in 1466
Further, the Basilica of Saint Sebastian with a luxurious facade of the late 17th century, architect Angelo Belloflre.
The balustrade enclosing the porch of the church was made in 1754 by the master Giovanni Battista Marini according to the project of a native of Acireale, the remarkable architect and artist Pietro Paolo Vasta, on it there are ten statues depicting the heroes of the Old Testament.
Inside the cathedral are beautiful frescoes and paintings by Pietro Vasta, Francesco Mancini, Giacinto Palatanio.
Let's go to the spacious beautiful square of the Cathedral (Duomo).
In 2009, Piazza Duomo was repaved with openwork tiles in an attempt to create the illusion of an inverted dome under your feet. This is if you looked from the bottom up, while inside the temple.
Pieces of marble have 145 different shapes, and in total about one and a half thousand were used. To emphasize the three-dimensionality of the pattern, pieces of marble are surrounded by carved and smooth volcanic stones of two types. The total area covered by the "inside-out dome" pattern is 1.600 square meters.
In the very center of the mosaic, the coat of arms of the city of Acireale is laid out of pebbles.
The facades of the cathedrals immediately look out onto the square.
Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary (Maria Santissima Annunziata):
Another facade of the cathedral overlooks Corso Umberto:
The cathedral survived the devastating earthquake of 1693, during which most of the city was destroyed. The current building of the cathedral is a 17th-century structure with several significant additions from subsequent centuries.
The painting of the dome, made by the already familiar Pietro Vasta:
There are frescoes and paintings by Pietro Vasta and Antonio Filocamo on the walls:
The relics of St. Veneranda (aka Paraskeva), one of the two patrons of the city, are buried in the cathedral.
Paul is notable for its sundial,
which were created by Heinrich Petres in the 19th century.
Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, built in 1550 and rebuilt in 1608. And the baroque appearance of the basilica was given by Pietro Paolo Vasta in 1741. The bell tower was built in the 19th century.
Inside, the single-nave basilica was re-decorated after the earthquake of 1818.
Today, here you can see several paintings by Vasta and Giacinto Platania.
Palazzo Municipale is located on Duomo Square, the end of the 17th century, it has been repeatedly restored. It is also known under the name Loggia Juratoria - Oath Loggia.
Palazzo Modo, where the city theater is located.
There is a fork in the streets near Duomo Square.
Let's go along another main street - Corso Umberto. . .
. . . past the square and the monument to the fallen soldiers.
We came across a store where we bought several children's clothes for our granddaughter at completely bargain prices (jeans - 2 euros). The siesta began, we managed to buy fruit for dinner at the grocery store.
Further along Corso Umberto is Piazza Indirizzo. . .
. . . where stands the neoclassical church of Chiesa del Indirizzo.
Near the entrance to Villa Belvedere, built in the 19th century:
To the right is Vittorio Emmanuel II Public Park:
At the entrance there is a fountain in the form of a bath, on the edge of which, as if on the seashore, Galatea mourns the murdered Acis Pereku:
On the edge of the park, an observation deck:
After resting in the park and refreshing ourselves with wine and fruit, we went back. Everything was already closed for a siesta, including the Church of San Domenica:
Let's go further in the city:
Here is a photo next to a cache-pot made of jeans by all tourists:
On the way to the train station, we got a little lost, asked for directions from an Italian who was waiting for the children from school in the car.
He explained, but with the Italian language we are not up to par, and again turned the wrong way. We see that this Italian with children is catching up with us in a car, and he took us to the station. A very pleasant end to the journey.
Summary of the May trip. Sicily is a very interesting region (like everything in Italy). Giardini Naxos and Catania are excellent places to base where you can combine leisure and travel.
We didn't have enough time to visit the places where Coppola filmed the Sicilian scenes of the first Godfather movie (near Giardini Naxos). We visited other cities of the east coast of Sicily already while relaxing in the Syracuse region.
Continued here >>>
