St. Sebastian, Palazzolo Acreide
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The church of St. Sebastian (Italian: San Sebastiano) is a Baroque church in Palazzolo Acreide, Sicily.
The original church of San Sebastiano was built in the 15th century, in the same site of the current edifice, next to a smaller church dedicate to St. Roch. It was enalrged in the 16th and 17th centuries but, like most of the edifices of Palazzolo, was destroyed in 1693 by a huge earthquake.
In the early 18th century a new edifice was built, with a nave and two aisles. The monumental façade was begun in 1723, with design by the Syracuse sculptor Mario Diamanti: it was completed, along with the campanile, in 1768.
The church is noteworthu for its fine Baroque decorations, including a wide usage of stuccoes in the interior. The vault of the central nave has three large 19th century frescoes, while the altars are in polychrome marbles, with altarpieces or statues portraying saints. The central nave ends with an apse including the St. Crucifix Chapel and a majestic marble high altar, with a 17th century crucifix.
Other artworks include the titular saint's statue (by an unknown artist, 1663), as statue of the Madonna, the organ (1728-29) and a painting of St. Marguerite by Olivio Sozzi (1758)
