The patroness of Acireale is Saint Venera, celebrated on 26 July. The cathedral is dedicated to Maria Santissima Annunziata, but in town it is commonly associated with the cult of the patroness; the original structure is 15th-century, reworked over the centuries, and inside are works by Pietro Paolo Vasta, Antonio Filocamo, Giuseppe Sciuti, Francesco Patané, Vito D'Anna and Giacinto Platania.
The saint's name ended up on the spa as well: in 1873 Baron Agostino Pennisi di Floristella inaugurated the neoclassical Santa Venera baths inside the English garden, and with the adjoining Grand Hotel des Bains Acireale became a spa town of some renown. The local calendar, though, opens earlier: on 20 January, with the feast of Saint Sebastian and his float.
