The sacred sacellum covered by a barrel vault can be accessed through a heavy metal door that leads to a small room with frescoes on three walls.
The fourth wall, not frescoed, features two niches. One contains the magnificent reliquary bust of the saint, concealed by a small silver sheet door tha...
A reliquary is usually a very precious container used to store relics, the remains of a saint. It is described as anthropomorphic when it takes the form of the body part contained inside it.
For example, the shape of an arm or foot....
A short inscription under the architrave of the main entrance portal commemorates the Palermo-born architect: ANNO D.MI 1736 ARCHITETTO D. JOANNE BAPTISTA VACCARINI (ANNO DOMINI 1736 ARCHITECT D. JOANNE BAPTISTA VACCARINI).
The portal is made of wood and on it are assembled 32 panels depicting epis...
A trabeation is a horizontal architectural element placed above the columns that evenly distributes the weight of the upper structures and reinforces the lower ones....
The Cathedral of Catania was deliberately built in an area near the sea so that its structure could better serve a dual purpose.
Both religious and defensive, it was nicknamed the ecclesia munita, meaning fortified church. It was largely destroyed by the earthquake of 1693 and only the apses remain...
An apse is an architectural structure in a semi-circular or polygonal shape. It is located in churches at the end of the main nave or, if the church has a central plan, in front of the entrance, where the main altar is usually located.
The apse is covered by a vault, called the apsidal vault, which...
The Simeto and the Amenano are the two rivers of the city of Catania. They are allegorically depicted by two statues carved on the base of the Fountain of the Elephant.
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The Catanese Liotru (elephant) is a clear reference to Roman Baroque.
Bernini's work was erected by Pope Alexander VII in 1667 as a symbol of Divine Wisdom.
The obelisk was inspired by a drawing contained in an allegorical romance, Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, written by the Dominican friar Francesc...
"Lu diotru" or "Liotru" (the elephant), which takes its name from the mythical story of Heliodorus, bears the weight of the obelisk in the centre of the square. It was probably built in the Byzantine era and placed below the archway of the city loggia as an entrance to the public palace; with Freder...
MiC – Ministero della Cultura
Legge 77/2006 - Misure Speciali di Tutela e Fruizione dei Siti Italiani di Interesse Culturale, Paesaggistico e Ambientale, inseriti nella “Lista Del Patrimonio Mondiale”, posti sotto la Tutela dell’ UNESCO Regione Siciliana.
Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana, Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana.
Parco archeologico della Valle dei Templi di Agrigento.
