The Church of Saint Anne the Mercy (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: Chiesa di Sant'Anna la Misericordia or simply Sant'Anna) 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 ...

church of

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

. It is located in the area of the ancient market of Lattarini, in the

quarter A quarter is one-fourth, , 25% or 0.25. Quarter or quarters may refer to: Places * Quarter (urban subdivision), a section or area, usually of a town Placenames * Quarter, South Lanarkshire, a settlement in Scotland * Le Quartier, a settlement i ...

of the

Kalsa Kalsa or Mandamento Tribunali is a historical quarter of the Italian city of Palermo in Sicily. It is sometimes referred to as la Kalsa or the Kalsa. Names The common name of the quarter, ''Kalsa'', derives from the district's historic Arabic n ...

, within the historic centre of Palermo. The church is kept by the

Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance The Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance or simply the Third Order Regular of St. Francis ( la, Tertius Ordo Regularis Sancti Francisci) is a mendicant order rooted in the Third Order of St. Francis which was founded in 1221. The me ...

History

The complex of Sant'Anna, including the church and a convent, was built in a zone formerly occupied by an unhealthy inlet, circumscribed by cliffs and filled by alluvial deposits of the former Kemonia river, which dried up a four centuries ago. In the period of the

Sicilian Vespers The Sicilian Vespers ( it, Vespri siciliani; scn, Vespiri siciliani) was a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I of Anjou, who had ruled the Kingdom of S ...

the area housed the residence of Joanne De Saint Remy, collaborator of

Charles of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) i ...

. In the 16th century, a chapel dedicated to ''Our Lady Of Pity'' is recorded in the so-called “Contrada della Misericordia”. In this chapel Tommaso de Vigilia painted a fresco of the

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...

. Over time the popular devotion to this icon increased. In 1596 a structure located near the chapel and used as granary was converted into a place of worship. The fresco was hung in this new temple. In 1597 the convent was built. Since the chapel was too small for the liturgical needs, the authorities of Palermo decided to enlarge the building with patronage from the noble families and the community. The architectural project was made by the senatorial architect

Mariano Smiriglio Mariano Smiriglio (1561 – 1636) was a Sicilian architect, painter and decorator, active in a Mannerist-Sicilian Baroque style in his native Palermo. He was born in Palermo, and started as a painter at the school of Filippo Paladini, then he w ...

. On 26 October 1606 the groundbreaking was launched. The church was completed in 1632 and consecrated on 13 November 1639 by the bishop of

Agrigento Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one of ...

Francesco Traina. The temple was dedicated to

Saint Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...

, mother of Mary, becoming known as Sant'Anna la Misericordia. Over the centuries the church was damaged on several occasions by earthquakes. In 1726, the earthquake of

Terrasini Terrasini is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo on the island of Sicily in Italy. Data Terrasini is located west of Palermo at the motorway between Palermo and Trapani, between the mountains and the Gulf of Castell ...

toppled the façade. The current baroque façade was designed by

Giovanni Biagio Amico 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 ...

. After the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century Political movement, political and social movement that resulted in the Merger (politics), consolidation of List of historic stat ...

, the church and the convent were confiscated by the state. For several years the complex was used as granary. In 1925 the church and a portion of the convent returned into the possession of the friars. Today the former convent is part of the

Galleria d'Arte Moderna Palermo The Modern Art Gallery of Palermo ( Italian: Galleria d'Arte Moderna Palermo) is a civic art gallery of Palermo, displaying works from the 19th until the early 20th century, located on Via Sant'Anna #21, adjacent to the church of Sant'Anna la Mi ...

, a museum of Italian art from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Art

Paintings

Oil on canvas: * ''Annunciation of Saint Anne'',

Elia Interguglielmi Elia Interguglielmi (1746 – 16 May 1835) was an Italian painter of the Neoclassical style, active in Naples and Palermo. He was born in Naples and died in Palermo. He initially worked under Gaspare Fumagalli in Palermo, but in 1762 was working ...

* ''Saint Anne teaching Mary'', Elia Interguglielmi * ''Saint Nicholas in Glory'', Elia Interguglielmi * ''Holy Family with Saint Anne and Saint Joachim'',

Melchiorre Barresi Melchiorre may refer to: As first name * Melchiorre Barthel (1625–1672) German sculptor *Melchiorre Cafà (1636–1667), Maltese sculptor *Melchiore Cesarotti (1730–1808), Italian poet * Melchiorre Delfico (caricaturist) (1825–1895), Italian ...

* ''Blessed William of Scicli'',

Leonardo Bazzano Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard. People Notable people with the name include: * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance scientist ...

* ''Saint Francis and Saint Elizabeth'', Leonardo Bazzano * ''Saint Rosalia praying over the city'',

Vincenzo La Barbera Vincenzo La Barbera (c. 1577 – 1642) was an Italian Mannerism, Mannerist architect and painter. Biography The son of Pietro and Domenica de Michele, his family were of Ligurian descent. The artist was born in Termini Imerese, to which his g ...

* ''Virgin appearing to Saint Diego'',

Filippo Tancredi Filippo Tancredi (1655–1722) was an Italian painter. Biography He was born in Messina to a minor painter and his mother, who was sister of the painter Filippo Giannetto.Guilliam Walsgart * ''Our Lady Refuge of Sinners'', unknown author Frescoes: * ''Our Lady Of Pity'', Tommaso de Vigilia * ''Ascension of Jesus'',

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- ...

* ''Assumption of the Virgin'', Filippo Tancredi * ''Madonna and Saint Simon Stock'', Filippo Tancredi * ''Elizabeth of Hungary and Saint Louis of France'', unknown author

Sculptures

High reliefs: * ''Pietà'', Lorenzo Marabitti Statues: * The statues of the facade were drawn by Giacomo Serpotta and sculpted by

Giacomo Pennino Giacomo is an Italian name. It is the Italian version of the Hebrew name Jacob. People * Giacomo (name), including a list of people with the name Other uses * Giacomo (horse) Giacomo (foaled February 16, 2002 in Kentucky) is a champion American ...

and Lorenzo Marabitti. They represent the saints Joseph, Elizabeth, Anne, Joachim, Louis and Anthony of Padua. Other statues are located inside the church.

References

External links

*
Image gallery
*

{{Authority control

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

Renaissance architecture in Palermo Baroque church buildings in Palermo Franciscan churches in Italy 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Sicilian Baroque

History

Art

Paintings

Sculptures

See also

References

External links