Acireale Hotel Collection

Known as the "town of a hundred churches", Acireale is a splendid town lying at the feet of Mount Etna, on the southwest coast of Sicily. Its name derives from the Greek myth of Aci and Galatea and in fact it was in the Hellenic period that Acireale served as important spa town. The ruins of the baths of Santa Venera al Pozzo, are still visible to this very day.

In 1693 an earthquake of dramatic dimensions completely destroyed the town and led to its reconstruction in elaborate Baroque style. Numerous the palazzo and churches built, including the town's magnificent Cathedral and the Church of San Sebastiano, this latter complete with typically flamboyant Baroque façade.

A brief detour leads us to the Timpa Nature Reserve, where to venture in to a territory rich in numerous plant and animal species and where to experience the area's quite unique ecosystem. Acireale is perhaps best known for its Carnival, involving a procession of floats with allegorical themes and easily the most spectacular held in the whole of Sicily.