Palazzolo Acreide was built as a defensive outpost of Syracuse. It was the ancient city of Akrai, erased by time but not by history.

From the mountains of Palazzolo, along the lower valley of the Hyblaean Mountains, the prominent position made it a unique vantage point in defense of the city. The city of Palazzolo had what Syracuse had but on a smaller scale. Here we find a Greek theater, shrines, quarries, and the bouleuterion (a building that housed the council in ancient Greece).

Rebuilt after the earthquake, more downstream, Palazzolo Acreide is “jewel” of the Sicilian Baroque and the churches of San Paolo, San Sebastiano and SS. Annunziata are proof of this.