Sicily – Acireale
Acireale is 9.3 miles from the larger town of Catania and has a population 52,394 (according to Wikipedia).
It’s roots are firmly established in mythology and Catholicism. The town is the successor to the Greek colony of Xiphonia, which was founded in 731 B.C. The present-day town derives its distinctive appearance from the Baroque buildings in the Piazza del Duomo. Acireale is famous for its puppet theater (Via Alessi 9), which operates all year round, its carnival and its crib, dating from 1736, which is displayed in a lava grotto during the Christmas season.
The Piazza del Duomo is the central square of town, once called Piazza del Cinque d’Oro (the square of the golden five) with reference to playing cards reflecting the arrangement of a platform surrounded by four small flower-beds that occupied it. Here musical and theatrical events were performed at one time. This beautiful piazza is surrounded by elegant baroque buildings, namely the Duomo, the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul – featuring a fine asymmetric façade with a single belfry – and the Town Hall, dated 1659, with wrought-iron balconies supported on richly decorated brackets bearing masks and gargoyles.
The Basilica di S. Sebastiano is located on corso Vittorio Emanuele, near Piazza Duomo, on the right hand side. A statue-topped balustrade crowns the Baroque façade of the church, combining columns, pilasters, niches and volutes. The transept and the chancel, inside, contain frescoes by Vasta depicting scenes from the life of St. Sebastian, the patron saint of the city.
According to the World Encyclopedia of Flags, by A. Znamierovski, 1999: ‘The triskelion (from the Greek “three-legged”) is one of the oldest symbols known to mankind. The earliest representations of it were found in prehistoric rock carvings in northern Italy. It also appears on Greek vases and coins from the 6th and 8th centuries BC., and was revered by Norse and Sicilian peoples. The Sicilian version has a representation of the head of Medusa in the center. The Manx people believe that the triskelion came from Scandinavia. According to Norse mythology, the triskelion was a symbol of the movement of the sun through the heavens.’