Cathedral of Acireale

The Church of San Biagio, also known as the Church of Sant'Agata alla Fornace, was built in the 18th century after the terrible earthquake of 1693. The church stands on the spot where, according to tradition, was the furnace in which Sant'Agata, the patron saint of the town, suffered martyrdom.

The church of San Placido dates back to 1409, the year in which the as yet unbuilt site was donated to Benedictine nuns. The construction took place on the ruins of an ancient pagan temple dedicated to the god Bacchus. The church was razed to the ground by the catastrophic earthquake in the Val di Noto in 1693, which destroyed the city of Catania. The new church was built just afterwards and was consecrated in 1723.

For its dual religious and defensive function (against Saracen incursions), Catania Cathedral was called the fortress church (Ecclesia Munita). The church was dedicated to the city's patron saint, Saint Agatha, by Ansger in 1094. The 1169 earthquake destroyed the vaults and damaged the columns and its exterior walls. The reconstruction was destroyed by the 1693 earthquake, which shook a large part of eastern Sicily hard.