Basilica dei Santi Pietro e Paolo

The Basilica of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul stands beside Acireale’s cathedral on Piazza Duomo. Founded by a lay confraternity, it combines a single-nave interior with a three-tiered façade and a bell tower in lava stone and limestone.

Why it matters

The basilica reflects the artistic and religious life of Acireale in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Its history is closely tied to the confraternity of the two apostles, which funded the church and commissioned local artists. The municipal directory records its full title as the Basilica minore pontificia dei Santi Apostoli Pietro e Paolo.

What to notice

The façade’s two orders are arranged to suggest a three-aisled church, although the interior has a single nave. A heraldic shield bearing a papal tiara, Peter’s keys and Paul’s sword dates to 1744. Inside, choir frescoes depicting the apostles’ martyrdoms were painted by Giovanni Fulco and Baldassarre Grasso between 1674 and 1679 and rediscovered in 1922. The church also contains works associated with Giacinto Platania and Pietro Paolo Vasta.

Context and history

A confraternity hall dedicated to the apostles preceded the present church. After the earlier building was sold to the cathedral’s governors, a new church was under construction by 1608. The 1693 earthquake destroyed its dome and damaged much of the structure. The façade by Pietro Paolo Vasta was begun around 1740 and completed in stages; a third order followed in 1765. The church became a collegiate church in 1924 and received the title of pontifical minor basilica in 1933.