Destinations for Christian religious tourism: places of worship and spirit
Sicilian religious architecture is the result of a series of different influences that, given the natural geographical position of the island in the centre of the Mediterranean, here meet and collide.
On the one hand, the European world that rises from the ashes of the Western Roman Empire, then Catholic-Western; on the other, eastern Christianity, then the Byzantine empire and the Islamic-Arab sphere: three worlds that come into contact (and sometimes clash) with their civilizations, traditions and languages.
The architecture of late-roman and Christian Sicily does not seem to have a great originality; indeed, it tends to repeat a series of models common to the western world. The originality can be seen in the transformations of some of the monuments of classical age into Christian basilicas, such as the Temple of Artemis in Syracuse, which is transformed into a Christian basilica: the skeleton of the temple still forms the framework of the church, the peristyle turned into a wall and the naos (central cell) with the opening of arcades, which became the central nave of the church. A similar transformation is also realized in the Temple of Concordia in Agrigento.
The early Christian period also left numerous remains of catacombs and churches built according to the ancient model of Latin churches, continuing with the arrival of the Byzantines who created the so-called “cubes”, churches with square maps mainly present in the eastern part of the island.
With the arrival of the Normans, at the beginning of the year 1000, the Arabs moved away and with them also their figurative expressions. The Norman era is a great laboratory, where many constructive experiences blend together. In part, it marks the return of the Byzantine architectural splendour that the Normans try to imitate by creating churches with strong classical influence, majestic sacred monuments with basilicas’ map and Latin or Greek cross. The only mosque built in Sicily dates back to this period and has been recently found in an excavation site of medieval structures in Segesta.
Under the Altavilla dynasty, the predominant language is the eastern one: we talk about Arabic-Norman architecture, whose characteristics are squared volumes, terse and mirrored surfaces, clear geometric shapes such as the cube and the semi sphere; features that are traceable in the architectures made in Nord Africa.
The long Gothic period marks the passage of various rulers in the island; each of them has influenced the island architecture: the Swabians with the construction of strongholds and the preservation of the castles received by the Normans, the Chiaramonte with the imposition of their specific decorative and architectural model present in numerous insular Churches and Monuments, with the introduction of Gothic-Catalan art imposed by the Spanish domination that the island had to undergo during the XV century.
As for the Baroque period, more elements have been preserved partly for the ancient Arab and Byzantine reminiscences that get the island inhabitant used to strong decorations, and also because of a large post-earthquake renovation work that imposes itself upon many areas, for example the Val di Noto.
Within the “Sicilia Sacra Network” project, we intend to promote an itinerary that leads to the discovery of the main sanctuaries, of religious architectures of Sicily and also of the religious festivals related to them.
The most important shrines of Sicily:
Agrigento: Sanctuary of San Calogero
Caltanissetta: Cathedral of Santa Maria La Nova
Catania: Metropolitan Cathedral of Sant’Agata
Enna: Cathedral of Our Lady of the Visitation
Ispica: Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Carmine
Messina: Sanctuary of Our Lady of Tindari
Palermo: Metropolitan Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Mary Assunta
Palermo: Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia
Partanna: Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Libera
Santo Stefano di Quisquina: Hermitage of Santa Rosalia at Quisquina
Sciacca: Sanctuary of San Calogero al Monte
Syracuse: Basilica of Saint Lucia at the Sepulcher
Syracuse: Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Trapani: Sanctuary of Maria Santissima Annunziata (or of Our Lady of Trapani)
