San Gregorio Magno is the

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 ...

''chiesa madre'' or ''mother church'' located on the corner of Via San Gregorio Magno and Largo Matrice, in the center of the town of

Vizzini Vizzini is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Catania, on the island of Sicily, southern Italy. It is located from Catania in the Hyblaean Mountains, on the most northwesterly slopes of Monte Lauro. The commune territory is bou ...

, in the region of

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

, Italy. It rises near the basilica church of San Vito Martire.

History and Description

A church was likely present here in the prior to the 16th-century, associated with a

Benedictine order , 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 ...

convent, of which ruins can be found adjacent. However, like much of the town, the church was nearly 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. ...

, and rebuilt. On the flank of the church is a dramatic Gothic-style portal, accessed via wide dual staircases, with a 1539 inscription citing the town's titular patron of St Gregory (

Pope Gregory I Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregori ...

). This portal is rich in sculptural decoration, with reverberating pilasters and two solomonic columns. Along this side, there are gothic style windows under arched frames. The façade, however, was built in Baroque style with a broken tympanum and awkwardly protruding Corinthian columns. It is now lodged in a small alleyway, while the side entrance opens to the piazza. Diagonal to the façade in the piazza is a modern bronze statue of San Gregorio atop a graffiti-riddled column. A large bell-tower rises to the right of the apse. The interior of the church houses various sculptural items and a rich stucco decoration. Among the altarpieces are a ''Martyrdom of the St Lawrence'' and a ''Madonna della Mercede'' by

Filippo Paladino Filippo Paladino (1544 -1614) was an Italian painter. Biography He was born near Florence in Tuscany and remained there until circa 1586 when he was imprisoned and subsequently exiled to Malta. From there, he moved to Sicily where he was active ...

. There is a copy (1815-1819) of the ''Last Supper'' of Leonardo Da Vinci, painted by

Giuseppe Emanuele Passanisi Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Giusep ...

. There is also a 17th century depiction of ''Pope Gregory with

Theodelinda Theodelinda also spelled ''Theudelinde'' ( 570–628 AD), was a queen of the Lombards by marriage to two consecutive Lombard rulers, Autari and then Agilulf, and regent of Lombardia during the minority of her son Adaloald, and co-regent when he ...

''. The wooden 17th-century icon of St Catherine derives originally from the church of that name in town. The depiction of

Saint Silvia Silvia, or Sylvia, (c. 515 – c. 592) was the mother of Gregory the Great. She is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church, which names her a patroness of pregnant women. Life Little biographical information abo ...

, mother of Gregory, was sculpted (1893) by Ortisei. The chapel of San Biagio (St Blaise) is richly decorated with polychrome marble, mainly from the 19th century. The church also has a prominent triptych, originally housed in the church of Saint Maria dei Greci. Comune of Vizzini
website, tourism entry on church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregorio Magno Vizzini 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy