The site was inhabited certainly from the twelfth century BC, but its recorded history starts as the Corinthians from Syracuse in 664 BC founded Akrai. The city grew in beauty and wealth so much so that it minted coin between 210 and 125 BC. When the Romans arrived, the city became civitas stipendiaria. Destroyed by the Arabs in 827 AD, medieval Palatiolum rose on a small rocky spur below the first site on behalf of the Normans who allowed a village to grow around the castle. The town became wealthy again when the religious orders arrived there in the sixteenth century. The current structure of the town is the result of the Baroque reconstruction after the earthquake occurred in 1693.

The archaeological site> There is much more than the simple memory of ancient Akrai: the city, with plateiai and stenopoi, still extends for about 35 acres west of modern Palazzolo.
There are bouleuterion, agora and a theatre, where the International Youth Festival of Classical Theatre organized with the INDA is held every year. There are the Intagliata and Intagliatella quarries, stone quarries where the cult of heroized dead was professed, and the basement of a temple, possibly dedicated to Aphrodite. There are the Ferali temples and, in the district Santicello, a dozen of rather rough sculptures, the Santoni, who testify the ancient and deeply felt worship of the goddess Cybele.

In the city> The Church of the Immaculate Conception, announced by the beautiful staircase that leads right up to the original convex façade, holds the statue of the Madonna and Child made in 1472 by Francesco Laurana.
The Main Church dedicated to San Nicola, built on a pre-existing Norman church, has a square and simple façade. It holds many works of art, starting from the altars: almost all of them are made of polychrome marble and adorned with precious pillars and carvings. Paintings by Olivio Sozzi, like the one depicting the Souls in Purgatory, hang side by side with works of high value such as the Martyrdom of St. Hippolytus which many scholars attribute to Mario Minniti, or the beautiful monumental altar where you can admire the painting St. Nicholas of Myra by Paolo Tanasi. Noteworthy are also the statue of Christ at the Column, between the main altar and the chapel on the left, and the sixteenth century painted Cross.

The Church of San Paolo, patron of Palazzolo Acreide, is truly spectacular. Rebuilt in the eighteenth century thanks to charity, today it is a World Heritage Site. It has a splendid Baroque tower façade, made of three stories with tall columns and arches ending with the elegant belfry on top. The three aisles stretch between masterpieces of religious art, be it sculptures, paintings or architectural details, such as those that emphasize the originality of the fourth altar on the left that seems to defy every law of physics. The attention, however, is immediately conveyed to the altar, framed by two large spiral columns: in the centre, behind the large canvas of Crestadoro depicting the Conversion of St. Paul, there's statue of the saint brandishing a sword, carved on wood in 1567 by Vincenzo Lorefice.
The Annunziata Church has a beautiful façade which partly maintains the spirit of the time when it was built, that is between the thirteenth and fourteenth century. In 1474 Antonello da Messina painted The Annunciation for this church, which today is kept at the Bellomo Museum of Syracuse. The façade, which was rebuilt in the eighteenth century, is filled with beautiful spiral columns and a trabeation, decorated with carved festoons of fruit. Inside, a beautiful Lady of Carmel, sculpted in 1700, and the main altar with precious marble inlays composing pictures of flowers and beautiful birds.

The Church of San Sebastiano stands on a monumental staircase that connects the entrance to the church with the square opening in front of it, which was lowered during the post-earthquake reconstruction. It was completed in 1768. Its façade has the characteristic shape of a tower, with the central part that rises up and ends with a belfry.
The interior is divided into three aisles, and there are many valuable works of art, including a St. Margaret of Cortona attributed by some to Vito D'Anna, by others to Olivio Sozzi.

The Church of San Michele Arcangelo was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693. It rises at the end of an imposing staircase. Inside, divided into three naves, there's a seventeenth century painting of St. Michael, hiding the niche housing a wooden statue of the saint.

The Church of Sant'Antonio Abate, was reconstructed in the eighteenth century but never completed, as it still misses the second bell tower. Inside it is embellished with fine stucco works by the Palazzolo sculptor Sebastiano Giuliano; among other works of art there are the four low relief medallions representing scenes from the Bible.

Many palazzi deserve attention if you wish to know the Baroque richness of Palazzolo Acreide. Along Corso Vittorio Emanuele there stand the palaces Pizzo, Puglisi Mortellaro and Judica; Palazzo Zocco rises on Piazza Umberto while on Via Garibaldi you can see Palazzo Iudica-Cafici (today Caruso) with its beautiful balcony decorated with no less than 27 mask; Palazzo Ferla (today Pricone) stands after via Maestranza.

The medieval quarter is called Castelvecchio as it expands around the remains of the castle (the palatium which has given Palazzolo its present name) which was recently restored and reopened to the public. The fortified building was built in Norman years, and was first a royal residence then the abode of the baronial family. It changed as the centuries passed until the terrible 1693, when the earthquake flattened much of the central-eastern Sicily.

On via Machiavelli you'll find the Museum House "Antonio Uccello" a precious site where the Iblean traditions are kept, such as the Puppet Theatre and the everyday tools of the peasants (for information and reservations tel. 091 881499).

In Via Maestranza, in Palazzo Vaccaro, recently the "Museum of Travellers in Sicily" has opened. It is a permanent exhibition of original prints, photographs, old books from the time of eighteenth-century Grand Tour in Sicily. Annexed to exposure there is the library that, through texts and computer consultations, documents the history of the "trip to Sicily."

A'Sciuta of St. Paul: is held on June 29 and is one of those folk feasts one can't miss. At 1pm, the statue appears on the top of the staircase of its church and a deluge of coloured 'nzareddi (paper strips) submerge the entire square (and much of the surrounding streets), covering everything between the sky and the street.

The feast of St. Sebastian is celebrated on January 20, the day commemorating the martyrdom of the saint, and then again from the 9th to the 17th August. The latter is the “true” festival, reaching its climax on the 10th, when a big crowd waits in front of the church for the exit (sciuta) of the statue, welcomed in the square with a shower of 'nzareddi (strips of coloured paper) and fireworks.

Feast of St Michael Archangel: the last Sunday of September is dedicated to this saint, celebrated with the traditional "Festival of children voices”.

Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows: it is celebrated on the third Sunday in September, but already the previous Saturday a procession takes place, carrying the statue of the Madonna holding the dead Christ in her arms. In Via Nicola Zocco there's an exhibition by pavement artists.

Palazzolo Carnival is one of the oldest in Sicily, dating back to the Middle Ages, when the barons allowed the subjects to sing and have fun before Lent. Today it is one of the major events of Palazzolo, with funny parades of allegorical floats followed by crowds of grotesque masks and live music almost at every corner.

Agrimontana is the festival dedicated to the promotion of the area's resources and is held on the last days of October - usually the last weekend. Along Corso Vittorio Emanuele there stand fly pitches where you can taste the traditional products, such as sausage and honey, and admire the objects of local hanidcraft.

Palazzolo summer: from late June to early September the streets and squares of Palazzolo become the set of a long series of events, performances, theatre.

International Youth Festival of Classical Theatre: during the second part of May, in the beautiful Greek theatre this festival takes place, organized by the municipal administration together with the Fondazione INDA, the Syracuse regional Province and Sicily INDA Ltd..
This is one of the most interesting events for school, where the protagonists are students (from all over Italy and abroad) presenting the work done during the previous month.

Christmas: from early December until January 6 Palazzolo comes alive with the Living Nativity and with the Cribs competition.