![Chiesa di San Francesco Borgia a Catania](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Chiesa_di_San_Francesco_Borgia_a_Catania.jpg)
San Francesco Borgia 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 lette ...
church located on Via Crociferi #7, adjacent to the former , and parallel to
San Benedetto, and about a block south on Crociferi of the church and convent of
San Giuliano, in the city of
Catania
Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...
, region of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
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, 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 ...
. The church is mainly used for exhibits, but still holds much of the original Jesuit artwork.
History and Description
When the
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
arrived in the mid-16th century to Catania, they were assigned the ancient church of the located at this site. Corresponding to their growing influence, they commissioned a new church dedicated to Saint Ignatius Loyola, a few blocks from here, on the present via Etna, completed by 1578 and designed by
Tommaso Blandino. When that building was razed by the
1693 Sicily earthquake
The 1693 Sicily earthquake struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, Calabria, and Malta on January 11 at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on January 9. The main quake had an estimated magnitude of 7. ...
, they chose the site of the church to build a new baroque church was designed by the fellow Jesuit Angelo Italia, begun in 1698, and completed by 1736.
In 1767, the Jesuit order was expelled from the Kingdom of Naples; the college and church became government property, and were used for diverse schools and charitable organizations. In 1867, the Collegio building was used to house the ''Grande Ospizio di Beneficenza'', which cared for abandoned infants (''esposti'') once they reached school age. It had room for 600 orphan children, only boys aged 7 through 18, who were trained as typesetters, shoemakers, tailors, carriage makers, ironworkers, and furniture makers. The orphanage had a gym and musical training.
Since 1995, the college has been used by the region's cultural offices, and houses a regional library. The church is presently deconsecrated and used for cultural activities by the .
The facade has a more classical front, lacking curved lines, but has flanking columns to the portal, which above has a broken pediment. The facade has five statues of Jesuit saints. The center one over the portal is the titular saint, while the flanking lower two are
Ignatius Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola, S.J. (born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; eu, Ignazio Loiolakoa; es, Ignacio de Loyola; la, Ignatius de Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spanish Catholic priest and theologian, ...
and
Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 1 ...
; the upper statues depict
Aloysius Gonzaga
Aloysius de Gonzaga ( it, Luigi Gonzaga; 9 March 156821 June 1591) was an Italian aristocrat who became a member of the Society of Jesus. While still a student at the Roman College, he died as a result of caring for the victims of a serious epid ...
and
Stanislaus Kostka
Stanisław Kostka S.J. (28 October 1550 – 15 August 1568) was a Polish novice of the Society of Jesus. He is venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Stanislaus Kostka (as distinct from his namesake, the 11th-century Bishop of Kraków S ...
.
The interior layout is of a Latin cross with a central nave and two aisles with chapels. Most of the work was completed by 1740. The first altar on the right has an altarpiece depicting the ''Vision of the Madonna and Child to
San Giovanni Francesco Regis while in agony'' by
Luciano Foti (1694-1779). The second altar on the right depicts the ''Saints Stanislaus Kostka and Aloysius Gonzaga'' by
Giovanni Tuccari
Giovanni Tuccari (1667–1743) was an Italian painter during the Baroque period, active in Sicily.
Tuccari was born in Messina. He was the son and pupil of Antonio Tuccari, an obscure painter. He excelled as a battle painter. He died of the ...
(1667- 1743). The main altar is rich in polychrome marble and sculptural decorations by
Giovanni Battista Marino 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 ...
. Part of it was vandalized in the 1980s. The main altarpiece is a copy (1567) of the ''Madonna della Neve'' found in
Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome
The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...
. The work was donated by
Francesco Borgia
Francis Borgia ( ca-valencia, Francesc de Borja; es, Francisco de Borja; 28 October 1510 – 30 September 1572) was a Spanish Jesuit priest. The great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI, he was Duke of Gandía and a grandee of Spain. After th ...
himself. The transept has two chapels decorated with polychrome marble and large marple sculptural reliefs depicting on the right ''Francis Xavier baptizing the King of India'' by Marino and on the left, the ''Apotheosis of St Ignatius with the four corners of the world'' by
Ignazio Francesco Marabitti.The reliefs are each flanked by four green marble
Solomonic columns
The Solomonic column, also called Barley-sugar column, is a helix, helical column, characterized by a spiraling twisting shaft like a corkscrew. It is not associated with a specific classical order, although most examples have Corinthian order, Cor ...
.
The base of the dome has statues of the four evangelists also by Marino, with stucco decoration by
Giuseppe Serpotta
Giuseppe Serpotta (1653–1719) was a Sicilian sculptor, the brother of the famous stucco sculptor Giacomo Serpotta
Giacomo Serpotta (10 March 1656 – 27 February 1732) was an Italian sculptor, active in a Rococo style and mainly working in ...
. The frescoes depict the ''Triumph of St Ignatius and the Jesuits over heresy with a glory of Saints and Martyrs'' painted by
Olivio Sozzi Olivio may refer to:
* Olivio (restaurant), Dutch Michelin starred restaurant
People
* Olívio Dutra
Olívio de Oliveira Dutra (born 10 June 1941 in Bossoroca, Rio Grande do Sul) is a Brazilian politician. He is a founding member of the Wor ...
. The apse has painted curtains in a
trompe-l'œil
''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...
effect.
In the altars of the left are two altarpieces: ''St Agatha visited in jail by St Peter'' by
Daniele Monteleone; and a ''Glory of St Joseph'' by
Giuseppe Guarnaccia.
Polo Regionale and Parco Archeologico di Catania
The adjacent former is notable for a Vaccarini courtyard with a white and blackstone decoration, similar to that seen in the Palazzo Cutelli in town.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Francesco Borgia
18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy
Roman Catholic churches in Catania