Palazzolo Acreide — Stage 04 of Passaporto 757
PASSAPORTO 757 · STAGE 04
Where stone has kept three thousand years
From the Strait to the heart of the Hyblaean Mountains.
The fourth stage of Passaporto 757 takes ACR Messina to Palazzolo Acreide, a town where different ages live side by side in the same landscape.
Ancient Akrai, the Val di Noto Baroque, monumental churches, popular festivals and traditional flavours tell the story of a place built by history and guarded by stone.
The journey goes on. This time towards a Sicily suspended between archaeology, identity and football.
ECCELLENZA SICILIA — GROUP B
SPORT CLUB PALAZZOLO vs ACR MESSINA 1900
Sunday 25 October 2026 · Kick-off 14:30
“Alessandro Scrofani Salustro” stadium · Palazzolo Acreide
THE CITY OF THE STAGE
A town that crosses time
Palazzolo Acreide rises in the heart of the Hyblaean Mountains, overlooking the Anapo Valley and surrounded by a landscape in which nature and history seem to belong to the same story.
Its origins go back to 664 BC, when the Syracusans founded Akrai on a strategic height. The ancient city still preserves its theatre, the latomie quarries, the bouleuterion and the traces of cults that crossed the Mediterranean.
After the 1693 earthquake, Palazzolo was reborn through the language of the late Baroque. Churches, staircases and palaces turned the town centre into a monumental stage, now part of the UNESCO site of the late-baroque towns of the Val di Noto.
Here history does not belong only to monuments. It lives on in festivals, cuisine, popular traditions and the way the community lives its squares.
Identity in three symbols
AKRAI — The ancient city
Founded by the Syracusans in 664 BC, Akrai is the oldest root of Palazzolo Acreide. The Greek Theatre, the bouleuterion, the latomie and the Santoni tell of this settlement’s role in the history of eastern Sicily.
THE BAROQUE — The reborn city
After the 1693 earthquake, Palazzolo was rebuilt in scenic, monumental forms. The Basilica of San Sebastiano, the Basilica of San Paolo and the buildings of the historic centre are part of the UNESCO-recognised late-baroque heritage of the Val di Noto.
TRADITIONS — The city that gathers
The feasts of Saint Paul and Saint Sebastian, Carnival, music and popular events still turn the streets and squares into places of shared participation.
Beyond the ninety minutes
Three places to discover Palazzolo Acreide before or after the match.
The Greek Theatre of Akrai
A theatre carved into the rock and open onto the Hyblaean landscape. It is the heart of the archaeological area of ancient Akrai and one of the town’s most representative places.
Piazza del Popolo and San Sebastiano
The grand staircase and monumental façade of the Basilica of San Sebastiano dominate one of the most scenic squares of the baroque town.
Antonino Uccello House-Museum
A journey into the material memory of rural Sicily. The house-museum preserves rooms, tools and testimonies collected by the ethnologist Antonino Uccello.
THE FLAVOUR OF THE STAGE
Palazzolo Acreide sausage
The journey through the Hyblaean Mountains also passes through the table.
The traditional sausage of Palazzolo Acreide comes from the area’s pork-butchering culture and has become one of the town’s most recognisable products.
Made with methods handed down over time, it can be eaten fresh or cured. In its traditional version it carries intense aromas of wine and wild fennel, and it is usually smoked over olive wood.
Today it is protected as a Slow Food Presidium and tells of the bond between breeders, butchers, restaurateurs and the local community.
A flavour that does not simply accompany the stage: it keeps its identity.
TOWARDS THE PITCH
Meet the opponent
Sport Club Palazzolo represents the football tradition of Palazzolo Acreide and takes the field in yellow and green.
The club plays its home matches at the “Alessandro Scrofani Salustro” municipal stadium and has built a solid presence in Sicilian regional football over the years.
Between 2008 and 2018 Palazzolo took part in Serie D five times. In the 2026/27 season it competes in Group B of Eccellenza Sicilia, coached by Giuseppe Matarazzo.
A side used to the division and backed by a town that sees in yellow and green part of its sporting identity.
The men to know
Experience, quality and knowledge of the division: Palazzolo keeps a group in which experienced players stand alongside the youngest members of the squad.
Stefano Frittitta
2026/27 squad
Retained in the 2026/27 squad as part of the club’s focus on continuity.
Salvatore Novello
2026/27 squad
Among the players retained by Palazzolo for the new season under Giuseppe Matarazzo.
Simone Guerci
Midfielder
A new midfield signing with previous experience at Siracusa and Noto.
How Palazzolo arrive
Palazzolo come into the match with four points from the first six matchdays.
The home win over Augusta and the draw with Acireale show a side able to find resources in front of its own crowd. The last two defeats, however, exposed a vulnerable defence.
At the Scrofani Salustro, Messina will face an opponent looking for redemption and determined to exploit home advantage.
Position: 14º · Points: 4 · Played: 6 · Won: 1 · Drawn: 1 · Lost: 4 · Goals for: 8 · Goals against: 14
Last six matches
- Jonica – Sport Club Palazzolo 2–1
- Sport Club Palazzolo – Acireale 2–2
- Messana Riviera – Sport Club Palazzolo 2–0
- Sport Club Palazzolo – Augusta 1–0
- Athletic Gioiosa – Sport Club Palazzolo 5–2
- Sport Club Palazzolo – Vittoria 2–3
Figures after matchday 6, before the 25 October match.
FROM MESSINA TO PALAZZOLO ACREIDE
Approximate distance: about 167 km
Approximate driving time: about 2 hours 10 minutes
Destination: Stadio Alessandro Scrofani Salustro
Town: Palazzolo Acreide
Times and route may vary depending on traffic and the chosen itinerary.