ACIREALE, DIOCESI di. – A city situated in eastern Sicily, 16 km from Catania. In its present location it dates from the early fourteenth century, and was originally called Aci; it acquired considerable importance during the sixteenth century and in 1642 received from Filippo IV the name of A. Among the city’s sacred monuments, the following should be mentioned above all: the distinctive church of S. Sebastiano, with a rich Baroque façade (1705), preceded by a balustrade with 10 statues by G. B. Marino; inside, the frescoes and a painting of the Pietà by P. P. Vasta, the finest Sicilian painter of the eighteenth century, are noteworthy; and the Duomo, with its modern façade
by G. B. Basile and its portal by P. Blandamonte (1667); inside are frescoes by Vasta in the transept, by G. Sciutti in the central vault, and by A. Filocamo (1711) in the Baroque chapel of S. Venera. Other noteworthy works by Vasta are found in the churches of the Maddalena, S. Antonio, the Crocefisso, and the Suffragio. The municipal palace (seventeenth century) houses the Accademia degli Zelanti, provided with a rich library (100,000 volumes), an art gallery, and an archaeological museum. Today A. is also a centre for numerous educational institutions entrusted to religious orders, among which the Pennisi College is particularly notable, with a meteorological observatory directed by the Jesuits.
The diocese is of recent foundation, having been established by Gregorio XVI in June 1844. The first bishop, in 1872, was Msgr. Gerlando Genuardi, who governed the diocese until 1907. The jurisdiction of the bishop of A. extends over 14 municipalities in the province of Catania, with 91 parishes, 235 diocesan priests, and 98 religious priests. The population is 167,000, for the most part Catholic.