The neighborhood of the dead, the fishermen's street, and a once-painted story that tells it all.

I am the Church of Santa Maria del Suffragio and for almost four centuries I have silently watched over the city of Acireale.

I was born in 1634 at the behest of Giuseppe Costarella and was inaugurated in 1638 along the ancient via Marina, now via Romeo, the road that connected the city center to the fishing village of Santa Maria La Scala through the picturesque path of the Chiazzette.

Around me grew the fishermen's quarter, which over time became known as the “quarter of the dead”, a place of prayer and remembrance for the souls in Purgatory.

After the earthquake of 1693, which deeply marked Eastern Sicily, I too was enriched with new decorations. The first large canvases were created by Matteo Ragonisi, but it was especially the Acireale painter Pietro Paolo Vasta who left the deepest mark. In the 1700s, he transformed my walls and my ceiling into a grand narrative of faith, where the episodes of the Old Testament converse with the New Testament to announce the redemption of man through the sacrifice of Christ.

Over time, my external appearance also changed. In the 1700s, my facade was rebuilt in white stone from Syracuse according to the design of don Pietro Paolo Amico, while an elegant pronaos with Corinthian columns was added to the south side, which later became my bell tower, elevated in 1822.

In 1905, I was declared a national monument. Even today I remain here, a silent witness of the centuries. My stones have listened to prayers, hopes, pains, and gratitude. I have seen generations pass before my doors and I continue to welcome those who enter in search of beauty, history, or simply a moment of peace.

I am the Church of Santa Maria del Suffragio and my voice is made of frescoes, stone, and memory.

IC “Paolo Vasta”, Acireale