Church of Magione (Chiesa della Magione) description and photos - Italy: Palermo (Sicily) (Topic)

Church of Magione (Chiesa della Magione) 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 Chiesa della Magione.

Photo and description

Church of Magione - a temple in the eastern part of Palermo, dedicated to the Holy Trinity. Built in the late 12th century with funds from the patron Matteo d'Angelo, it is a fine example of late Norman architecture in Sicily. Magione, along with two other churches of the Archdiocese of Palermo, bears the privileged title of "minor basilica".

The exact date of the beginning of the construction of the temple is unknown, but historians agree that the foundation was laid between 1150 and 1190. It is only known for certain that already in 1191, Magione passed into the possession of the Cistercian Order - this happened at the behest of Matteo d'Angelo. Six years later, the church became the property of the Knights of the Teutonic Order, this time by order of Emperor Henry VI. And at the end of the 15th century, Magione turned into an ordinary parish church.

Like many other buildings in Palermo, the Magione church was seriously damaged during the Second World War during air raids on the city. During the subsequent restoration in the 1950s-1960s, the interior of the temple was freed from numerous baroque elements, which returned it to its original appearance. Today Magione, as mentioned above, is considered one of the best-preserved examples of late Sicilian-Norman architecture.

The facade of the church - austere and laconic - consists of three tiers, which in turn form blind arches. It does not have the intricate inlays and decorations so characteristic of other cathedrals in Palermo. Inside Magione is a three-aisled basilica, the narrow side chapels are separated from the central nave by two rows of marble columns. The columns are crowned with pointed arches. The interior of the church is also simple and practically devoid of decorations - only in the left nave one can see the tombstones of the knights of the Teutonic Order.

One of the walls of Magione is adjoined by a covered gallery of double columns with beautiful capitals - this is a cloister that forms an inner courtyard. The architecture of the cloister suggests that the same craftsmen who built the Cathedral of Monreale, a suburb of Palermo, worked on its creation.

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Topic: Church of Magione (Chiesa della Magione) description and photos - Italy: Palermo (Sicily).