Santa Maria della Catena 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 ocated on Via Conte Ruggero in the town of

Calascibetta Calascibetta (Sicilian language, Sicilian: ''Calascibbetta'') is a ''comune'' in the Province of Enna, Sicily, southern Italy. History It was assumed that Calascibetta was founded in the 9th century as a Muslim military camp, on the fortress in ...

, in the region of

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

, Italy.

History and Description

The site once held a synagogue (previously described as a ''meschita'' or mosque); but in Sicily, under Spanish rule at the time, the

Alhambra Decree The Alhambra Decree (also known as the Edict of Expulsion; Spanish: ''Decreto de la Alhambra'', ''Edicto de Granada'') was an edict issued on 31 March 1492, by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain ( Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Arag ...

dictated the expulsion or conversion of the Jews. Under these circumstances, the property was acquired from the Jewish owners by the aristocrat Bernardo Andrea Grimaldi from Enna. However, soon thereafter local towns people bought the property and reconsecrated it as a church. The portal, made in a baroque style, was added only in the 1930s. The bell-tower was added by the 1600.Comune of Calascibetta
tourism entry on church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Catena Calascibetta 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Calascibetta