Basilica La Magione
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La Magione is a 12th-century Norman- Gothic architecture, Roman Catholic Basilica church, located on Via Magione #44, the entrance to the facade, which faces southeast, is through a garden path midway between via Castrofilippo (the southern edge of Piazza Maggione) and Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, in the ancient quarter of Kalsa of
Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
, region of Sicily, Italy. The apse of the church is on the southeast corner of Piazza Magione.


History

A church at the site was completed by 1191, perhaps at the site of a former mosque, and is the last church built in the capital of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily during the period of the Hauteville dynasty. Its foundation is linked to the Chancellor of the Kingdom, Matthew of Ajello, who initially assigned the church and an adjacent monastery to the Cistercian order. However when Palermo fell by the 1190s under the rule of the Hohenstaufen
Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI (German: ''Heinrich VI.''; November 1165 – 28 September 1197), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany ( King of the Romans) from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he was also King of S ...
, the Cistercian monks, who had favored Henry's rival Tancred, were expelled, and the property granted in 1197 to the Teutonic Order. Both
Tancred Tancred or Tankred is a masculine given name of Germanic origin that comes from ''thank-'' (thought) and ''-rath'' (counsel), meaning "well-thought advice". It was used in the High Middle Ages mainly by the Normans (see French Tancrède) and espec ...
and his son, prince Roger III of Sicily, were buried in this church in 1193-1194. The Teutonic Knights served as protectors of the young King Frederick II for over a decade during his minority. The knights built dormitories, an armory and stables. The name ''Magione'' is thought to derive from a word derived from the Latin term ''Mansio'', often referring to the house of a lord (mansion), and to the residences of the Teutonic knights. In 1492, at the request of
Pope Innocent VIII Pope Innocent VIII ( la, Innocentius VIII; it, Innocenzo VIII; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death in July 1492. Son of th ...
, King
Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...
, removed the Teutonic Order from Sicily. The complex became a residence for priests and abbots under the administration of the archbishop of Palermo. In 1780 it passed unto direct control of the
Bourbon of Naples The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish ...
and in 1787 it was given to the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George. They were expelled in the 1860s during the suppression of religious orders by the Kingdome of Italy. In 19th century an important restoration was realized by
Giuseppe Patricolo Giuseppe Patricolo (1834 – 1905) was an Italian architect and engineer, best known for restoring many of the medieval, including Norman architecture, buildings in and near his native Palermo in Sicily. In 1866, he was named professor of descri ...
, stripping away some of the additions to the Norman church. A description from 1875 describes the building as ''sadly disfigured''.Italy: Handbook for Travellers. southern Italy, Sicily, and excursions
by Karl Baedeker (Firm), 1875, page 231. The church suffered gravely from the bombing of the second world war and much was rebuilt in the restoration. The church has the title of Minor basilica.


Description

The access to the church complex is through a baroque gateway, first installed in the 18th-century with two flanking protruding columns upon which stand the allegorical representations of Faith and Charity. In the center, above the portal is the coat of arms of the Constantinian Order. This leads to a garden path with cycads and bougainvillea. The present façade is the result of many alterations; those from the late 19th and early 20th-century stripped the baroque portal to the church, and the neoclassical portico that had been added previously. What remains is a brick façade accentuated by a number of ogival arches, including the portal and some flanking windows. The church interior has a Latin cross layout with a central nave, lined by Corinthian grey marble columns separating this from the flanking aisles, and ending in three semicircular apses. The central nave is tall.


Gallery

File:Magione-apse.jpg, Apse File:La Magione (Palermo) Kircheninneres-2011-08-03.jpg, Interior. Central nave File:Chiesa Cancelliere 06.JPG, Tabernacle File:La Magione, Kreuzgang, Südostseite - Reste der Bemalung.jpg, Fresco of Madonna delle Grazie File:Magione-cloister.jpg, Cloister File:La Maggiuni.jpg, Portal of the complex


References


External links


History of the church on ''bestofsicily.com''
{{Authority control Magione Magione Arab-Norman architecture in Palermo Churches with Norman architecture Buildings and structures of the Teutonic Order Magione Minor basilicas in Sicily