Santi Pietro e Paolo, Minor basilica in Acireale, Italy

Santi Pietro e Paolo is a basilica on Acireale's piazza del Duomo, next to the cathedral. Its single nave is divided into bays by Ionic columns with Corinthian capitals, under a masonry vault built after 1790, with neoclassical stuccoes and a domed presbytery. The white limestone facade of 1741 has paired columns and statues of Peter and Paul; a lava-stone bell tower of 1735 stands at the right.

The church's origins lie with the Arciconfraternita dei Santi Pietro e Paolo, whose first autonomous building dates to 1550; the new church was contracted in 1613 and completed around 1635. The 1693 Val di Noto earthquake destroyed the main chapel, sacristy and wooden ceiling with frescoes by Giovanni Fulco and Baldassarre Grasso. Rebuilding began in 1741 with Pietro Paolo Vasta's white Syracuse limestone facade, and Francesco di Paola Patanè renewed the interior around 1790. It became a collegiate church in 1924 and a minor basilica in 1933 under Pius XI.

The church serves as a venue for weddings, funerals, and community gatherings, showing how central it remains in daily local life. Visitors experience it as a living religious center where the community regularly comes together.

The basilica is open daily to visitors and can be entered without advance notice. It is best to be quiet during services and dress respectfully when visiting.

The facade was designed by painter-architect Pietro Paolo Vasta in 1741, with a third order added by Paolo Guarrera in 1765. A twin bell tower planned for the left side to mirror the 1735 lava-stone one was never built, so the front stays asymmetric.