Santa Maria di Gesù, Caltagirone
Coordinates: 37°13′26″N 14°31′06″E / 37.22385°N 14.51844°E Santa Maria di Gesù is a Roman Catholic parish church located in Caltagirone in the region of Sicily, Italy. There is also a former Jesuit church del Gesù in town.
History and Description[]
A church at the site was built at the beginning of the 16th-century through the efforts of the blessed Matteo d'Agrigento of the Franciscan order (Frati Minori Osservanti). Adjacent to the church is the former monastery with a frescoed courtyard. The church was damaged by the 1693 Sicily earthquake, leading to a reconstruction with a new bell-tower, whose dome is decorated with colorful maiolica tiles. The monastery and church were suppressed in the late 19th-century; but the monks were allowed to return in 1939.[1]
The interior was frescoed by Bernardino Bongiovanni depicting various Franciscan saints. One of the lateral altars has a Madonna della Catena with child Jesus (1538) by Antonello Gagini. The main altarpiece depicts St Francis granting rules of a monastic order to St Clair (1847) by Francesco Vaccaro. Another altarpiece depicts a Nativity painted by . Inside the church are buried a number of Franciscan priests claimed to be venerable.[2]
References[]
- ^ Franciscan order, website, entry on church.
- ^ Diocese of Caltagirone website, entry on church.
- 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy
- Roman Catholic churches in Caltagirone
- Buildings and structures in the Province of Catania