Santa Maria della Catena description and photos - Italy: Palermo (Sicily) (Topic)

Santa Maria della Catena description and photos - Italy: Palermo (Sicily). Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Santa Maria della Catena.

Photo and description

Santa Maria della Catena is a church in Palermo, built in the late 15th - early 16th centuries on the site of a small chapel designed by the architect Matteo Carnivari. It is located in the vicinity of the city port of Cala. According to one legend, the name of the church comes from a miraculous event that happened in the 14th century, when the shackles of prisoners who were unfairly sentenced to death literally melted in the sun after they offered prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In Italian, the word "catena" just means "chains, shackles."

In the construction of the three-nave church, a mixture of Renaissance and Gothic-Catalan styles was used, the features of the latter are especially clearly visible in the arched covered balcony crowning the main staircase, which was added in the middle of the 19th century. The interior decoration is also in the late Gothic style and includes the work of an unknown 17th century master "The Nativity of Christ and the Adoration of the Magi" and 16th century bas-reliefs attributed to Vincenzo and Antonello Gagini. The latter also worked on the capitals of the columns and the entrance portal of Santa Maria della Catena.

The first chapel on the right is dedicated to Saint Brigitte, inside it you can see a 17th century painting by an unknown artist depicting the saint's greatness, and on the sides and on the ceiling are 18th century frescoes by Olivio Sozzi. In the second chapel, there are also preserved old frescoes - they date back to the 14th century and depict the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus in her arms, who has a very adult appearance and a bald head, which testifies to his eternal wisdom. In the corners of the chapel there are statues of Saints Margaret, Ninfa, Barbara and Olivia. Their creation is attributed to Gagini.

In 1602, a monastery was added to the church, the premises of which have been occupied by the state archive since 1844. And the church of Santa Maria della Catena itself is today considered one of the most significant examples of the local embodiment of the Renaissance style.

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Topic: Santa Maria della Catena description and photos - Italy: Palermo (Sicily).