San Biagio (Saint Blaise) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church located on via Francesco Randazzo #24 in the town of Nicosia, in the

province of Enna Enna ( it, Provincia di Enna; sicilian language, Sicilian: ''Pruvincia di Enna''; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Enna'') is a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. It was created in 1927, out ...

, region of

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

, Italy.

History and Description

A church at this site was built by 1433, adjacent to a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery. It was enlarged and refurbished in 1698 and 1729. A final restoration occurred in 2010-2011. The exterior of the church is nondescript flat with a large cornice over a rectangular stone portal. After the late 19th-century suppression of the monasteries, part of this monastery was converted to private use, but a section was used as the local seminary for the bishopric until 1960. The church has a single nave; the interior is richly decorated in late-Baroque stucco with gilded accents, completed by

Serafino Perollo Serafino is an Italian given name. It may refer to: People * Serafino de Montegranaro (1540–1604), Italian Capuchin friar * Serafino de' Serafini (1323-1393), Italian painter * Serafino Belfanti (1860–1939), Italian immunologist * Serafino ...

. The main altar has five canvases completed by

Giuseppe Velasco Giuseppe Velasquez, Velasques or Velasco (16 December 1750 – 7 February 1827) was an Italian painter, active in a Neoclassic style. Biography He was born at Palermo into Spanish family; his father was Fabiano Ungo de Velasco. At the age of ...

from 1772 to 1775: *''St Blaise heals one sick with bubonic plague'' *''Extasis of Ste

Scholastica Scholastica (c. 480 – 10 February 543) is a saint of the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Anglican Communion. She was born in Italy. According to a ninth century tradition, she was the twin sister of Benedict of Nursia. ...

'' *''Martyrdom of

St Placidus Placidus (also known as Placid) was a disciple of Benedict of Nursia. He was the son of the patrician Tertullus, was brought as a child to Benedict at Sublaqueum ( Subiaco) and dedicated to God as provided for in chapter 69 of the Rule of St. B ...

and his companions'' *''Presentation of Jesus at the temple'' *''St Benedict topples the statue of Apollo'' There is an altarpiece also on the topic of ''St Benedict'' by Velasco at the church of

Concezione al Capo, Palermo The Church of the Immaculate Conception (Italian: Chiesa dell'Immacolata Concezione or Immacolata Concezione al Capo) is a Baroque church of Palermo. It is located on the busy streets composing the markets of the Capo, in the quarter of the S ...

. Behind the canvas of St Blaise is an icon of the saint (1600) completed by

Giovanni Battista Li Volsi Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

, a sculptor native to Nicosia. He also sculpted a ''Flagellation of Christ'' located in the church. Housed in the church is a wooden tabernacle, originally from the church of Santa Maria di Gesù by either

Pietro Bencivinni Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice * Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death * Pietro II Can ...

or a follower.Eco Museo Nicosia
website, entry on church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biagio Nicosia 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Biagio, San