Currently inside St Ursula’s Cemetery, the church of Santo Spirito was commissioned by Queen Margaret of Navarre and Sicily, who promoted the construction of the building between 1173 and 1178 through Bishop Gualtiero Offamilio. The church was then entrusted to the Cistercian order. It was acknowledged by King William II through generous donations. On 30 March 1282, the Sicilian Vespers, the uprising of the Sicilian people against the Angevins, began in the square in front of the church. From this moment on, the church was also known as the Church of Vespers.
