The heart of Acireale is one of Sicily's finest Baroque piazzas, flanked on three sides by the cathedral, the Basilica dei Santi Pietro e Paolo, and the Palazzo della Città. Each building is a study in the ornate, almost theatrical stonework that characterises the Sicilian Baroque style that emerged after the great earthquake of 1693 destroyed the earlier town.
The two churches facing each other across the piazza — the Cathedral (dedicated to the Annunciation) and San Pietro e Paolo — are worth entering for their interiors. The Cathedral has a fine painted ceiling and a series of frescoes by Gian Battista Conti. San Pietro e Paolo has a more vertical, dramatic facade. The Palazzo della Città, the old town hall, closes the square's eastern side. In the evenings the piazza fills with locals and becomes the stage for the Corso Umberto passeggiata.