This
is the story of a lost town, Akrai, the
ancient Greek settlement abandoned after the Arabic invasion in 827 A.D. Its
evocative ruins, found out in the 19th century, jump you in its
glorious past: the Greek theatre of sky,
the stone quarries of Intagliata and Intagliatella, later converted into
Christian arcosolium and baldacchino burial chambers; the
wonderful relief of a large banquet cut into the rock face. The new town,
Palazzolo Acreide, was re -founded just down the hill from the Greek settlement
by the Normans and today it’s included in the list of Unesco World Heritage
sites for its late baroque monuments, reconstructed by the island’s Spanish
overlords after the 1693 earthquake. In Palazzolo you still retain
a feel that is undoubtedly Sicilian and time seems to stand still. So please, sit around the
impressive Piazza del Popolo, dominated by
the church of San Sebastiano and the
Town Hall just
enjoying life at a slow pace. Then take a long walk along Via Garibaldi street
that leads you to Palazzo Caruso, with 27 gargoyles holding the
longest baroque balcony in the world. Stop over and see Piazza Moro, where the honey-colored churches of San Paolo
and Matrice, as two watch towers, guard
and watch over the medieval castle rising on the top of the hill. Palazzolo Acreide
turns you out to be a huge surprise. You’ll love no place more than this one.