Zelantea Library and Art Gallery

Founded in 1671 and located in an edifice built by the Town Council between 1910 and 1913, the Zelantea Library testifies the importance of culture in Acireale’s history. One of the most ancient and richest in Sicily, it contains about 100.000 books, 56.000 volumes including incunabula, aldine purchased in Venice in the early sixteenth century, Florentine editions of giuntine, over 1.000 manuscripts, a rich newspaper archive of utmost importance for the knowledge of Sicilian history. Annexed to the Library is the Art Gallery where, alongside the local school of painters, you can admire works attributed to the school of Rubens, Titian and Pietro Novelli. Of significant interest is the elegant Acireale’s ancient Senate Carriage, with gilded wood carvings and paintings.