The ex Jesuits' College (in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

''Collegio dei Gesuiti''comune.alcamo.tp.it, "Ex Collegio dei Gesuiti"
) is a building in the town centre of

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 ...

(in the

province of Trapani Trapani ( it, Provincia di Trapani, scn, Pruvincia di Tràpani; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Trapani'') is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, southern Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilian provinces, it ...

Historical hints

Its construction started in 1652, on a project by Dazio Agliata (thanks to the donation by the

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

Vincenzo Abbati), in order to promote the diffusion of the

Christian faith Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global populat ...

, but it has never been completed. The building of the

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

, instead, dates back to the following century. The only original document about this project was found at the

National Library of Paris National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

: in the planimetry there were foreseen four sides with an inner court, the terrace covering the colonnade which was to be built on the ground floor surrounded by the wall of the attic. The project was never completed entirely: in fact, only two sides were realized, the ones facing North and West that have maintained their original characteristics. In the 18th century the College of Jesuits was enriched with an arcade: they had foreseen another construction above it, but it was not realized. Originally the colonnade of the College had four

arches An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vault ...

; only three remain now as the one which connected the arcade to the Church of Jesus (in

''chiesa del Collegio dei Gesuiti''), was demolished. In recent times it has been restored for seven yearshttp://siciliainformazioni.com/redazione/106692/106692 and today it is the representative house of the town, of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Alcamo and of the Civic Library "Sebastiano Bagolino", which hosts rare incunabula and sixteenth-century editions. Vecchia_foto_del_Collegio_dei_Gesuiti_-_02

Vecchia_foto_del_Collegio_dei_Gesuiti_-_02

The College

The place chosen for the construction of the College, was located on the western side of the town, outside of its walls, very near ''piazza Maggiore'' (later piazza Ciullo) in a central area which was already interested by new buildings since the 16th century. It was required by the ecclesiastical authorities that these colleges were built inside the town centres (so they could rely on a large number of potential students), big enough to lodge the Jesuits and the schools for their pupils, possibly with a garden and preferentially near a church and the Mother Church, but also, at a certain distance from the areas of influence of other religious orders. Inside the Collegio dei Gesuiti, founded for the diffusion of faith and spiritual formation, also laymen found room, having here a guide for their path of faith.

Works

Besides the works exhibited inside the museum, inside the Oratory there are some 18th-century

frescoes Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

by Domenico La Bruna: ''Our Lady's Assumption'' (on the ceiling), ''

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 ...

in the

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 ...

'', the ''

Flagellation Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on ...

of Jesus'', ''the encounter with

Saint Veronica Saint Veronica, also known as Berenike, was a woman from Jerusalem who lived in the 1st century AD, according to extra-biblical Christian sacred tradition. A celebrated saint in many pious Christian countries, the 17th-century ''Acta Sanctorum' ...

'' and others.

References

Sources

* * * *

Historical hints

The College

Works

References

Sources

See also