Catania Cathedral

The cathedral of Sant'Agata in Catania is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Catania, one belonging to the church region Sicily diocese of the Roman Catholic Church. The cathedral is located on the east side of Piazza Duomo and is dedicated to Saint Agatha, the patron saint of Catania.

History

The original church was built around 1070-1093 on the Roman ' Baths of Achilles ". She had the form of a " fortress church " with a nave and four corner towers. By earthquakes and eruptions of Mount Etna, the church was partially destroyed several times and rebuilt. The present building is the work of architect Girolamo Palazzotto, who rebuilt by the 1693 earthquake destroyed the cathedral from 1709 including the preserved eastern part of the Norman basilica ( transept apses ) in Baroque style.

The exterior

The church building is a long building with transept and triple apse. The apses were freed during restoration work mid-20th century by its baroque jewelry and thus show the original construction of the Norman building. The Baroque west front of the cathedral comes from Giovanni Battista Vaccarini.

The interior

The interior is divided by pillars into three naves. In the central apse stands the main altar, the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and the right side apse is in the left apse of the Chapel of St. Agatha. Here, the relics of Saint Agatha are kept in a jeweled shrine of silver.

At the south end of the transept is the Lady chapel with tombs of members of the Aragonese royal family, including of Kings Frederick II and Frederick III. In the cathedral are the tombs of the composer Vincenzo Bellini and Cardinal Giuseppe Benedetto Dusmet. In the aisles inlaid altars stand out of the middle of the 18th century.