The Unesco-listed 18th-century Palazzo Beneventano is Sicilian baroque on steroids. Fantastical stone creatures taunt, terrorise or merely bemuse from the palace's corbels, arches and cornices. Among them are turban-wearing Moors and shaven, collar-wearing black slaves, unusual features in Sicilian baroque decoration and a sobering reminder of Europe's historic slave trade. The palace itself is named for the Beneventano, a noble family originally from the Sicilian town of Lentini, south of Catania.
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9.4 MILES
Ragusa Ibla is a joy to wander, its labyrinthine lanes weaving through rock-grey palazzi to open onto beautiful, sun-drenched piazzas. It's easy to get…
0.1 MILES
Never judge a book by its cover, or a palazzo by its facade. Take the 19th-century Palazzo Bonelli Patanè, its demure neoclassical facade tight-lipped…
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Abandoned for decades, this 18th-century palazzo found its saviour in French journalist and documentary filmmaker Jean-Louis Remilleux, who purchased the…
Basilica Cattedrale di San Nicolò
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10.02 MILES
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5.73 MILES
The high point of a trip to Modica – quite literally as it's up in Modica Alta – is the Duomo di San Giorgio, one of Sicily's most extraordinary baroque…
21.23 MILES
About halfway along Corso Vittorio Emanuele is the graceful Piazza Municipio, flanked by Noto's most dramatic buildings. To the north, sitting in stately…
0.16 MILES
Although its origins lie in the 15th century, the luminous church standing today was built between the mid-18th and late-19th centuries. Like many of…
Nearby Southeastern Sicily attractions
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To fans of the popular TV series Commissario Montelbano (Inspector Montalbano), Scicli's Town Hall – completed in 1906 – is better known as police…
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3. Chiesa di San Giovanni Evangelista
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After the earthquake of 1693 reduced the original church to rubble, construction of the current baroque beauty began in 1760. Behind its elegant convex…
0.1 MILES
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0.11 MILES
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0.12 MILES
The convex balcony railings of this 18th-century aristocratic pad were cleverly designed to accommodate the era's hooped gowns. One can imagine the gentry…
0.14 MILES
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