San Michele Arcangelo is a

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...

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, also known as the ''Chiesa Madre'' of the town of

Grammichele Grammichele (, Greek: ''Echetle'' (meaning "plowshare"); Latin: ''Echetla'', ''Ochula''; Medieval: ''Occhiolà'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Catania in Sicily, southern Italy. It is located at the feet of the Hyblaean Mo ...

in the 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

The entire town of Grammichele was relocated and rebuilt after the

1693 Sicily earthquake The 1693 Sicily earthquake was a natural disaster that struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, then a territory part of the Crown of Aragon by the Kings of Spain Calabria and Malta, on 11 January at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was ...

. This church was erected starting around 1724 and not completed until 1757, under the patronage of the comune and the heirs of Carlo Maria Carafa Branciforte, Prince of Butera. The architect

Carlo Sada Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: *Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo *Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince Char ...

completed the superior portion of the facade and added the clock. The church is dedicated to St

Michael Archangel Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

, who along with St

Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine, was, according to tradition, a Christian saint and Virginity, virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a ...

, is the patron of the town. St Michael is putatively the protector against earth quake. The interior has three naves, a transept, and a tall dome at the crossing. The interior is decorated with late-Baroque stuccoes and statues of the 12 apostles. Among the altarpieces are the ''Dispute of St Catherine of Alexandria'' by an unknown author; and a ''St Michael with a standard of the Virgin''.Diocese of Caltagirone
website, entry on church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michele Arcangelo Grammichele 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Sicily