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,
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 ...
collegiate basilica church located on Piazza Lionardo Vigo in central
Acireale
Acireale (; , 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. It is home to ...
in the 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. ...
of
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. 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 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
Baldassare is a masculine Italian given name. It is the Italian spelling of Balthazar. Notable people with the name include:
* Baldassare Aloisi (1578–1638), Italian history and portrait painter and engraver
* Baldassare Amato (born 1958), Sic ...
. 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 most commonly refers to:
* Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse
* Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area
Syracuse may also refer to:
Places
* Syracuse railway station (disambiguation)
Italy
* Provi ...
was designed by
Angelo Bellofiore
Angelo is an Italian masculine given name and surname meaning "angel", or "messenger".
People People with the given name
* Angelo Abenante (1927–2024), Italian trade unionist and politician
* Angelo Accardi, Italian visual artist
* Angelo Acc ...
, 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 ( , , ; 6January 1832 – 23January 1883) was a French printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engravings illustrati ...
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 Giacinto ...
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 painter.Comune of Acireale short entry.