San Biagio (Saint Blaise) is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

, in the

province of Enna The province of Enna (; Sicilian: ''pruvincia di Enna''; officially ''libero consorzio comunale di Enna'') is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy. It was created in 1927, out of parts of the provinces of Caltanisetta an ...

, region of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, Italy.

History and description

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

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery. It was enlarged and refurbished in 1698 and 1729. A final restoration occurred in 2010-2011. The exterior of the church is undistinguished 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. The main altar has five canvases completed by Giuseppe Velasco from 1772 to 1775: *''St Blaise heals one sick with bubonic plague'' *''Extasis of Ste

Scholastica Scholastica (; – 10 February 543) was an Italian Christian hermit and the sister of Benedict of Nursia. She is traditionally regarded as the Organizational founder, foundress of the Benedictines, Benedictine nuns. Scholastica is honored as ...

'' *''Martyrdom of St Placidus 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. Behind the canvas of St Blaise is an icon of the saint (1600) completed by Giovanni Battista Li Volsi, 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 or a follower.Eco Museo Nicosia
website, entry on church.

References

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