Badia di Sant'Agata or Abbey of St Agatha is an 18th-century

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 and attached female convent located on Via Vittorio Emanuele #182 in the center of

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

, 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. ...

Southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

. The

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style church facade is across the street from the left transept of the Cathedral of Catania.

History and description

This monastery was founded in 1620, under the

Benedictine rule The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up in the motto of th ...

, with an endowment by Erasmo Cicala. The church was erected at the site of a prior church and monastery that had been razed by the 1693 earthquake. The earthquake putatively killed 15 or the 28 nuns. The complex is dedicated the St

Agatha of Sicily Agatha of Sicily () is a Christian saint. Her feast is on 5 February. Agatha was born in Catania, part of the Roman Province of Sicily, and was martyred . She is one of several virgin martyrs who are commemorated by name in the Canon of the Ma ...

, patron of Catania and to whom over a half-dozen churches in town are also dedicated. Reconstruction was slow, initially to house the cloistered nuns at the site, a fence had to be erected, and they found shelter among the ruins. In 1720, a legacy of 4000 scudi by Giuseppe Moncada led to construction beginning in 1736, under the designs and guidance of Giovanni Battista Vaccarini. The facade was complete by 1742, it utilized the seventeenth-century portal designed by Giovanni Maria Amato, which had survived the earthquake. The octagonal dome was not complete until 1768. Like many of the monasteries in town, special grills both metal and balconies with stone fretwork allowed the cloistered nuns to see street life and the numerous religious processions. Inside the church a metal grill behind the main altar has a viewing balcony that allowed the nuns to attend mass, while sheltered from the public. The base of the dome allows for views of the city and the looming volcano of

Mount Etna Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( or ; , or ; ; or ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina, Italy, Messina and Catania. It is located above the Conve ...

. The interior is an elongated octagon with white marble floors and yellow Castronovo marble, a material selected by the architect Nicolò Daniele. In 1782 Giovanni Battista Marino, Mario Biondo and Giovanni Battista Amato completed the stucco altarpiece statues, depicting in the side altars: St Benedict, the Immaculate Conception, St Joseph, and St Euplio. The main altar has a Statue of Saint Agatha reminiscent of

Ercole Ferrata Ercole Ferrata (1610 – 10 July 1686) was an Italian sculptor of the Roman Baroque. Biography A native of Pellio Inferiore, near Como, Ferrata initially apprenticed with Alessandro Algardi, and became one of his prime assistants. When hi ...

's ''Sant'Agnese on the Pyre'' in the Roman church of

Sant'Agnese in Agone Sant'Agnese in Agone (also called Sant'Agnese in Piazza Navona) is a 17th-century Baroque church in Rome, Italy. It faces onto the Piazza Navona, one of the main urban spaces in the historic centre of the city and the site where the Early Christ ...

. The church consecration ceremony was completed in 1796. Under the dome hangs a large glass chandelier. Damaged by the 1990 earthquake, repairs were complete by 2012.Fondoambiente Italia.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Badia Catania 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Catania