Roman Catholic Diocese of Acireale

Acireale (Italian: [ˌatʃireˈaːle]; Sicilian: Jaciriali, locally shortened to Jaci or Aci) is a coastal city and comune in the north-east of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. It is home to numerous churches, including the Neo-Gothic St. Pietro's Basilica, St. Sebastiano's Basilica in the Sicilian Baroque style, and the 17th century Acireale Cathedral, and a seminary, for the training of priests. Acireale is also noted for its art and paintings: the oldest academy in Sicily, the "Accademia dei Dafnici e degli Zelanti", is located here.

Acireale Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Acireale, Cattedrale Maria Santissima Annunziata) is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the city of Acireale in Sicily, province of Catania, Italy. It was declared the seat of the Bishop of Acireale in 1870. The present cathedral building, which is located in the Piazza Duomo, was constructed as a simple parish church between 1597 and 1618 that was greatly enlarged a few years later when it received the relics of Saint Venera, one of the two patron saints of the city,. The structure survived the earthquake of 1693, and the present cathedral is a 17th-century building with significant additions from each succeeding century. Of particular note are the Baroque portal representing the Annunciation by Placido Blandamonte of Messina, dating from 1668, combined with a Neo-Gothic west front by Giovan Battista Filippo Basile, completed after his death in 1891 to his plans, of c.1900. The two campaniles, in Mannerist style with octagonal bases, although identical in appearance, are centuries apart in construction: the one to the south is from 1655, as is the cupola, while the one to the north, as well as the rose window, are from 1890. The interior is 17th century Baroque. The interior decoration includes painting by Pietro Paolo Vasta, Francesco Mancini Ardizzone, Antonio Filocamo, Giuseppe Sciuti, Francesco Patanè, and Giacinto Platania.

San Camillo is a Baroque, Roman Catholic parish church located in Acireale in the region of Sicily, Italy. This small church was commissioned by the order of Camillians, who cared for the ill. The church was erected in 1730 and frescoed by Pietro Paolo Vasta. The walls depict scenes from the old testament, while the apse has a Glory of the Virgin Mary. The main altarpiece is a Madonna delle Grazie also by Vasta. The adjacent building is the hospice of St Camillus, founded in 1743, and still administered by the order.

Santi Pietro e Paolo is a Baroque-style, Roman Catholic collegiate basilica church located in central Acireale in the region of Sicily of Italy. It rises adjacent to the Cathedral of Acireale.

The Pinacoteca Zelantea is the main art gallery located on Via Marchese di S. Giuliano #17 in the town of Acireale, Sicily. The art gallery and affiliated library are housed in the Neoclassical palace designed by Mariano Panebianco in the late 19th-century. The art gallery is part of an institute that comprises a library, and a society of scholars. The present institution is the modern expression of entities dating as far back as the 1650s, when a group of ecclesiastical men began meetings of an Accademia degli Zelanti. The initial art collection dates to the donation in the 1850s, by Mariano Leonardi Gambino, of his family's collection of painting, engravings, and sculptures, including many works by local artists. By 1889, the collection was moved to the site of the Biblioteca Zelantea (the library). Paolo Leonardi Vigo of the same family of Mariano, arranged to have works by Antonino Bonaccorsi, Francesco Mancini, Giuseppe Sciuti, and Saru Spina displayed in the same building as the Biblioteca. In 1958, works by the artist Antonio Carbonati were sent to the library from a national museum. In 1970s, paintings and works by Michele La Spina and Giuseppe D’Angelo were obtained. The latter works were mainly donated by his family.

The Palazzo Musmeci is a late-Baroque-style palace located on Via Musmeci and Piazza San Domenico, across from the church of San Domenico, in the city of Acireale, region of Sicily, Italy. The palace was erected by the Baron Musmeci in the 18th century. Its curved facade has small balconies on second-story windows; the attic story has smaller windows below a decorative cornice. The palace retains some 18th-century furnishings and a courtyard with statues.

San Domenico is a Neoclassical, Roman Catholic church located in central Acireale in the region of Sicily of Italy.

The Church of the Oratory or in Italian, Chiesa dell’Oratorio or Chiesa dei Padri Filippini is a Neoclassical-style Roman Catholic church located on Via San Rafaele #1 in Acireale, region of Sicily, Italy. The church is notable for artworks by Antonino Bonaccorsi, Paolo Leonardi Vigo, Francesco Mancini, and Alessandro Vasta. The church is still affiliated with the order which runs the nearby Istituto San Michele.The Oratorians did not arrive to Acireale until 1827, when they were invited by the bishop. This church was not completed until 1840. The altarpieces commissioned for the church, include: Phillip Neri brings children to a statue of Christ with Baronius in background by Bonaccorsi Aloysius Gonzaga receives the first communion from Carlo Borromeo by Leonardi Holy Family by Mancini Madonna of the Puberty by Alessandro Vasta Ceiling fresco of Phillip Neri by Giuseppe Rapisardi

San Sebastiano is a Baroque-style, Roman Catholic collegiate basilica church located on Piazza Lionardo Vigo in central Acireale in the region of Sicily of Italy. The church became collegiate in 1924; and basilica in 1990.

Santa Maria del Suffragio is a Baroque, Roman Catholic parish church located in central Acireale in the region of Sicily of Italy. The church is located at the end of Via Romero, where the strada del la Marina leads through an opening in the town walls to the Fortezza del Tocco and to the seaside.

Santa Maria degli Agonizzanti, later called San Crispino is a small, now deconsecrated Baroque, Roman Catholic church or chapel located on Via Vittorio Emanuele II, corner with Via Pennisi, in Acireale in the region of Sicily, Italy. This small church was originally linked to a confraternity that tended to the final communion and burial of prisoners condemned to death. Originally built in the early 18th-century, the plaque above the portal harkens to a reconstruction in 1905. The church putatively contained a prison cell where the captive was kept till execution. The death penalty was abolished in the Kingdom of Italy was abolished in 1889 until 1929. The church is no longer in use.

Sant'Antonio di Padova Sant'Antonio di Padova is a Gothic-style, Roman Catholic parish church located on via Vittorio Emanuele in central Acireale in the region of Sicily of Italy.