Location
This little town, noted for its Baroque buildings, is attractively situated 35km/21.75mi west of Syracuse in the Monti Iblei, between the valleys of the rivers Tellaro to the south and Anapo to the north. It replaced the ancient settlement of Akrai, parts of which have
been excavated to the southwest of the town. The historical significance of the region can be studied in the nearby ancient necropolis of Pantálica.
History
Akrai was the first satellite town of Syracuse, having been built here in 664 B.C. as a successor to the Siculan settlement of Pantálica and also as a military outpost to defend the road to the interior of the country. In the Early Christian period Akrai developed into a focal point of Christianity. The Byzantines kept a military base here as a defense against the Arabs, but nevertheless the latter succeeded in taking and destroying it in the ninth century. In the 12th century the Normans rebuilt the settlement, again for strategic reasons, and called it Palazzolo. In 1693 it, like Noto and many other towns, fell victim to the devastating earthquake of that year and was subsequently rebuilt as a Baroque town.
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