San Sebastiano is a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

-style,

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 ...

collegiate basilica church located on Piazza Lionardo Vigo in central

Acireale Acireale (; scn, Jaciriali, locally shortened to ''Jaci'' or ''Aci'') is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the north-east of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. ...

in the region of

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

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 became collegiate in 1924; and basilica in 1990.

History and Description

An oratory dedicated to Saint Sebastian, was founded by a fraternity, and had been erected during the 15th century at the present site where the church of

Sant'Antonio di Padova Sant'Antonio, Italian for Saint Anthony, most often refers to places named after Saint Anthony of Padua or Sant'Antonio Abate: People Places Switzerland *Sant'Antonio, Bellinzona, municipality in canton of Ticino * Sant'Antonio (Poschiavo), civ ...

now stands. Saint Sebastian was a common source of veneration in Italy as patron saint invoked for protection during the onslaught of the plague. When the city was spared from severe problems from the 1577 plague assault on the island, the patronage of the church grew, and the fraternity decided to build a larger church at this site. On the patron saints day on January 20, a procession of the ''ferculo'' with an icon of the saint is carried through town. Completed during 1608–1658, the church was also frescoed by Venerando Costanzo and Baldassare Grasso. The 1693 earthquake collapsed the choir, the sacristy and the oratory. Reconstruction was quick taking place mainly between 1695 and 1699. The facade in white stone from

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

was designed by Angelo Bellofiore, and completed between 1705 and 1715. In front of the facade is a highly decorated balustrade with ten statues. The row of saints depicts San Gervasio and San Lorenzo to the left, and San Vito and San Protasio to the right. Above are statues of the brothers Santi Cosma and Damiano. The facade itself is richly festooned with sculptural decorations of putti and masks. The metal portal gates of the atrium were completed by Salvatore Paradiso in 1848, while the bronze bas-reliefs of the central door were designed by

Gustave Doré Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré ( , , ; 6 January 1832 – 23 January 1883) was a French artist, as a printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engraving ...

in 1893. The interior has a center nave and two aisles with a dome rising at the crossing of the transept. In 1732,

Pietro Paolo Vasta Piero or Pietro Paolo Vasta (31 July 1697 - 28 November 1760) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, mainly active in the east of his native Sicily. Biography He was born in Acireale. and initially trained with both the painters Giacint ...

was awarded a commission to fresco the choir and apse; he competed for the commission with Venerando Costanzo, who painted the ''Conversion of Cromazio'' for the lunette in the right transept. In the choir and the spandrels of the cupola, Vasta depicts scenes of the life of St Sebastian. In the Chapel of the Sacrament, the frescoes are by Vasta, while the chapel of Jesus and Mary has frescoes by

Alessandro d'Anna Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Alessandro * Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter * Alessandro Baricco ...

. In the transept are some frescoes (1899-1901) in encaustic by Francesco Mancini.

Francesco Patanè Francesco Patanè (1 June 1902 – 21 June 1980) was an Italian painter, engraver, and sculptor. He was born in Acireale, and was active in his native Sicily. He painted altarpieces and frescoes for the church of San Sebastiano and the Cathedral ...

painted frescoes in the transept between 1899 and 1901. Among the altarpieces are the following and ''Addolorata'' and ''Trinity'' by Vasta and

Vito D'Anna Vito D'Anna (14 October 1718 – 13 October 1769) was an Italian painter, considered the most prominent painter of Palermitan rococo and one of the most important artists of Sicily. Biography He was the father of Alessandro D'Anna, the brother- ...

; and a ''Santi Cosma e Damiano'' by

Antonino Bonaccorsi Antonino Bonaccorsi also called ''il Chiaro'' (June 1826, in Acireale, Sicily – 1897) was an Italian people, Italian painter.Comune of Acireale
short entry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sebastiano Acireale 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Acireale Baroque architecture in Acireale