Santa Chiara all'Albergaria refers to a church and former monastery located in piazza Santa Chiara, in the quarter of Albergaria in the city 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 ...

, region of

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

, Italy. The church is located near the busy outdoor Ballarò marketplace.

History

The monastery was built atop the remains of the ruins of the

Carthaginian The term Carthaginian ( la, Carthaginiensis ) usually refers to a citizen of Ancient Carthage. It can also refer to: * Carthaginian (ship), a three-masted schooner built in 1921 * Insurgent privateers; nineteenth-century South American privateers, ...

walls of the ancient town. In 1344, during the Aragonese rule of Sicily, under the patronage of Matteo Sclafani, count of Sclafani and Adernò, a church for Clarissan nuns was built adjacent to their cloistered monastery. The church underwent a major refurbishment in 1678. In 1919, the convent was granted to the

Salesian order , image = File:Stemma big.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , abbreviation = SDB , formation = , founder = John Bosco , founding_location = Valdocco, Turin ...

. The church was heavily damaged during the Allied bombardment of Palermo in 1943. Prior to the bombardment, the facade was a rich baroque front designed by Paolo Amato and was decorated with

Solomonic columns The Solomonic column, also called Barley-sugar column, is a helix, helical column, characterized by a spiraling twisting shaft like a corkscrew. It is not associated with a specific classical order, although most examples have Corinthian order, Cor ...

and a statue of St

Clare of Assisi Clare of Assisi (born Chiara Offreduccio and sometimes spelled Clara, Clair, Claire, Sinclair; 16 July 1194 – 11 August 1253) was an Italian saint and one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi. She founded the Order of Poor Ladie ...

. The present facade utilized the portal of the former church of the Madonna delle Grazie dei Macellai once located on Piazzetta dei Caldomai. The flanking baroque bell-tower did survive the bombardment.

Art and Architecture

The church has a single nave with shallow side chapels and a semicircular apse. The apse dome was designed by Amato in the 1678 reconstruction, which continued even after the 1726 earthquake. The side chapels have lost some of their past decoration, which can still be seen in the apse. The chapels walls had separate compartments allowing the nuns to attend services while remaining cloistered from the public. The first chapel on the right has an altarpiece depicting ''St Clare'' (1713) by

Olivio Sozzi Olivio may refer to: * Olivio (restaurant), Dutch Michelin starred restaurant People * Olívio Dutra Olívio de Oliveira Dutra (born 10 June 1941 in Bossoroca, Rio Grande do Sul) is a Brazilian politician. He is a founding member of the Wor ...

. It was donated by the nuns from the monastery of Valverde in the 1719. The second chapel on the right, dedicated to the Crucifix, has an ''Crucifixion with Mary, St John, and Mary Magdalen'' (1748) painted by Gaspare Serenari. A ''Pietà'' painted by

Pietro Novelli Pietro Novelli (March 2, 1603 – August 27, 1647) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Palermo. Also known as ''il Monrealese'' or ''Pietro "Malta" Novelli'' to distinguish him from his father, Pietro Antonio Novelli I ...

, was once present here, but now is on display in the Museo Diocesano of Palermo. The allegorical frescoes in the apse are attributed to Paolo Martorana, depict Christ granting the keys to St Peter. In the half-dome of the apse, Gaspare Fumagalli painted a ''Triumph of the Ark of Alliance'' (circa 1749). Antonio Grano painted the ''Triumph of the Cross'' (1678) for the cupola ceiling. The spandrels are painted with female allegories of the four cardinal virtues of knowledge, fortitude, justice, and charity. The main altar is made with precious stones (lapis-lazuli, agate, and amethyst and colored marbles) and gilded bronze. The walls host four paintings (1735) depicting events in the life of Saints Francis and St Claire by

Guglielmo Borremans Guglielmo Borremans or Guglielmo Fiamingo (1670–1744) was a Flemish painter whose documented career took principally place in Italy, in particular Naples, Cosenza and Sicily. Here he was one of the pre-eminent late-Baroque fresco painters of th ...

. Various busts of female saints overlook the altar including Saints Rosalia, Restituta, Margaret of Scotland and St Elizabeth of Portugal.Guida istruttiva per Palermo e suoi dintorni
by Gaspare Palermo and Girolamo Di Marzo Ferro (1858); page 480-484.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiara Palermo Roman Catholic churches in Palermo Baroque architecture in Palermo Franciscan churches in Italy 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy