Sacra Famiglia ("Holy Family", called also ''chiesa di San Giuseppe'' or ''Mezzana'' or ''Culliggeddu'' because of its small dimensions) is a religious building in

Alcamo Alcamo (; scn, Àrcamu, italic=no) is the fourth-largest town and commune of the Province of Trapani, Sicily, with a population of 44.925 inhabitants. It is on the borderline with the Metropolitan City of Palermo at a distance of about 50 kilo ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

; it is located on the ground floor of the

Ex Jesuits' College The ex Jesuits' College (in Italian language, Italian ''Collegio dei Gesuiti''

History

The church was built thanks to Father Vincenzo Abbati, who died in 1654. After his death, his body was first buried in the church of Stellario and later was moved inside the church of Jesus, after its completion. In this church, on 25 April 1745, the male Congregation of Madonna del Lume (named after middle-class people, that is "little land owners"), was formed. According to the chronicles of the time, the members met every Sunday evening, and the congregation was abolished on 28 July 1770 by a royal decree. The church was run by the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

until their expulsion in 1860. Later (more precisely since 1866) the administration of the church passed to the Congregation of the Holy Family, which had been founded inside the

Ex Jesuits' College The ex Jesuits' College (in Italian language, Italian ''Collegio dei Gesuiti''chiesa madre in 1942. On the altar there is a painting dedicated to Madonna del Lume painted by Giuseppe Renda. In Alcamo the feast of Madonna del Lume was celebrated on the fifth Sunday after each Easter; two weeks after the festivity of Patrocinio. In 1947 monsignor Giuseppe Barone was appointed as its

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

and under his leadership the church was modernized. The Church was closed in 1968, owing to the damages suffered during

1968 Belice earthquake The 1968 Belice earthquake sequence took place in Sicily between 14 and 15 January. The largest shock measured 5.5 on the moment magnitude scale, with five others of magnitude 5+. The maximum perceived intensity was X (''Extreme'') on the Mer ...

; it was later restored and cleaned, thanks to the financing by Nicolò Cassarà, before being fully reopened.

Description and works

The church has a single navy with three altars: the high altar (in white marble and adorned by red stucco columns) and two side altars, in

polychromatic Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statue ...

marble, realized and inaugurated in 1937. * Until 1952 on the high

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

there was a painting made by

Giuseppe Renda 220px, ''Madonna of the Lamp'', in the basilica of Santa Maria Assunta at Alcamo. Giuseppe Renda, called "l'Aroddu" (13 June 1772 - 20 October 1805), was an Italian painter. Biography Born in Alcamo into a family of farmers and third son of ...

(1772–1805) from Alcamo, now kept in the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

and in the same year substituted by a

wooden Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin tha ...

statue of the Holy Family, realized by the firm Luigi Santifaller from Ortisei (Bolzano) and donated by Nicolò Cassarà from Alcamo. For this reason they transformed the wall, by building an oval niche, where they placed it, embellishing it with two small columns in red stucco, similar to the existing ones. Under the high altar, inside a marble

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...

there are the

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

of Saint

Benedict the Moor Benedict the Moor ( it, Benedetto da San Fratello; 1526 – 4 April 1589) was a Sicilian Franciscan friar who is venerated as a saint in the Catholic church. Born of enslaved Africans in San Fratello, he was freed at birth and became known for ...

, Saint

Paulinus of Nola Paulinus of Nola (; la, Paulinus Nolanus; also Anglicized as Pauline of Nola; – 22 June 431) born Pontius Meropius Anicius Paulinus, was a Roman poet, writer, and senator who attained the ranks of suffect consul () and governor of Campania ...

, and

Saint Casimir Casimir Jagiellon ( la, Casimirus; lt, Kazimieras; pl, Kazimierz; 3 October 1458 – 4 March 1484) was a prince of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Second son of King Casimir IV Jagiellon, he was tutored by Johannes ...

. * On the left altar there is a Holy

Crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

(which was kept in the

attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...

of the

Ex Jesuits' College The ex Jesuits' College (in Italian language, Italian ''Collegio dei Gesuiti''Passion's chapel" (built with the will of the congregation of the Holy

), where there are the statues of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

praying in the

Garden of Gethsemane Gethsemane () is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus underwent the agony in the garden and was arrested before his crucifixion. It is a place of great resona ...

Our Lady of Sorrows Our Lady of Sorrows ( la, Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows ( la, Mater Dolorosa, link=no), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names ...

, Jesus scourged and tied to a column and Jesus dead in the inferior level. These statues come from a group which were kept in the

Ex Chiesa di Santa Maria dello Stellario Santa Maria dello Stellario (or Church of Stellario) was a catholic Church located in piazza Ciullo, in the town centre of Alcamo, in the province of Trapani. History It was founded in the 17th century by Mariano da Alcamo, a Capuchin friar, ...

. Next to them you can see a painting of Saint

Michael (archangel) Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

, who Father Pugliese lighted candles to, in order to keep the rain away during the feast of Patrocinio, taking place on the third Sunday after Easter, when they offered lunch to poor families in piazza Ciullo. On the side walls there are four oval paintings made by Gioacchino Speciale (1923–2004), from

Partinico Partinico ( Sicilian: ''Partinicu'', Ancient Greek: ''Parthenikòn'', Παρθενικόν) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy. It is from Palermo and from Trapani. Main sights *Church of ''S ...

, realized in 1955 in substitution of the others which were in a bad state: * The

Presentation of Jesus at the Temple The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (or ''in the temple'') is an early episode in the life of Jesus Christ, describing his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem, that is celebrated by many churches 40 days after Christmas on Candlemas, ...

The Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...

* The Virgin's wedding * The escape to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. On the ceiling there is the Ascension of Mary and of his son Jesus (by an unknown author). In 1926 they made the wooden

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

decorated with

carvings Carving is the act of using tools to shape something from a material by scraping away portions of that material. The technique can be applied to any material that is solid enough to hold a form even when pieces have been removed from it, and ...

representing the joiner's tools (tongs, a hammer and a saw) on both sides and

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

's emblem (that is the sun, stars and ears of wheat seen by Joseph the Just) on the fronton: everything is surmounted by a wooden

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

which matches the style. In the same year this pulpit won a prize in an exhibition at

Montecatini Terme Montecatini Terme is an Italian municipality (''comune'') of c. 20,000 inhabitants in the province of Pistoia, Tuscany, central Italy. It is the most important center in Valdinievole. The town is located at the eastern end of Piana di Lucca ...

. You could enter it through an external wooden small staircase, that was substituted with a more comfortable one, made in

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

, set into the wall and hidden by a small door. At the corners of the pulpit there are two little columns adorned with

Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...

capitals which surmount two angels’ heads; behind them, on the wall, there is, as a decorative motif, a great

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

in the shape of a

snail A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastro ...

. The

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

, which you can reach through a small staircase set into the wall, has got a

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

and is embellished by a wooden

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

. In 1954 under the choir, in order to increase the Church's luminosity, they placed a new wooden inner door with large glasses in four parts, that is formed by two sides small doors and two central ones, with the sign of a cross in the middle (inscribed in the middle of a circle) and made by Vito Fulco. On this occasion they also restored the choir, letting it lean on cement columns with a marble base. During these works they have also changed the first electric installation (dating back to 1912) and placed two small holy water stoups, made in red marble. Outside one of the two windows of the choir there are two bells. The church

Confessional A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall in which the priest in some Christian churches sits to hear the confessions of penitents. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Churches, but sim ...

has got two kneeling-stools and is placed in a niche set into a side wall of the Church. The

vestments Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; this w ...

, altar cloths and sacred furnishings, realized thanks to the charity of Francesco Guarrasi Anna are: * The white, red and violet altar hangings worked with gold; * The large armchair of golden stucco and red velvet, with four stools and a platform; * The silver

altar cards Altar cards are three cards placed on the altar during the Tridentine Mass. They contain certain prayers that the priest must say during the Mass, and their only purpose is as a memory aid, although they are usually very beautifully decorated. Hi ...

with the Church official badge for the high altar; * a

thurible A thurible (via Old French from Medieval Latin ) is a metal censer suspended from chains, in which incense is burned during worship services. It is used in Christian churches including the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Assyrian Church of th ...

; * a silver incense-boat; * a

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

ciborium; * a triangular processional standard made in velvet with a gold fringe; * a silver tray; * a

holy water stoup A holy water font or stoup is a vessel containing holy water which is generally placed near the entrance of a church. It is often placed at the base of a crucifix or religious representation. It is used in the Catholic Church, Anglican Churches ...

with an

aspergillum An aspergillum (less commonly, aspergilium or aspergil) is a Christian liturgical implement used to sprinkle holy water. It comes in three forms: a freshly cut hyssop branch, a brush-like bundle that is dipped in the holy water and shaken, an ...

. Besides, the external door in

and the steps, made by the master builder Geraci, were realized thanks to the benefactor Guarrasi Anna.

The feast of Patrocinio

Every year the congregation of the Holy Family organizes the feast of Patrocinio, which takes place in piazza Ciullo. During the feast they place a stage in front of the Church of Jesus (

chiesa del Gesù Chiesa (Italian, 'church') may refer to: People with the surname *Andrea Chiesa (born 1966), Swiss Formula One racer *Anthony della Chiesa (1394–1459), Italian Dominican friar *Bruno della Chiesa (born 1962), European linguist * Carlo Alberto Da ...

) where some poor people representing the Holy Family sit for the lunch offered and served by the members of this congregation.

References

Sources

* * {{cite book , last1=Barone , first1=Giuseppe , title=La Congregazione di Gesù Maria e Giuseppe nella chiesa della Sacra Famiglia di Alcamo , publisher=Accademia di studi Cielo d'Alcamo , location=Alcamo , date=1969

External links