The Conservatorio delle Verginelle di Sant'Agata (Conservatory of the Young Virgins of St Agatha) is a former orphanage-hostel and church located on via Teatro Greco #82, with the northern facade paralleling Piazza Dante and the

Monastery of San Nicolo l'Arena A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

in the center of the city 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. ...

, Italy. Presently it houses the facilities of the Faculty of the Scienza della Formazione of the

University of Catania The University of Catania () is a university located in Catania, Sicily. Founded in 1434, it is the oldest university in Sicily, the 13th oldest in Italy, and the 29th oldest in the world. With over 38,000 enrolled students, it is the largest uni ...

, educating future science teachers.

History

A conservatory of this name was documented by 1586, with the aims of providing for young and poor abandoned girls, patronized by the aristocrat Giovanni La Rocca. The institution not only housed the girls, who were entering marriagable age, but also taught them a craft and prepared them for marriage with a small dowry. After the

1693 Sicily Earthquake The 1693 Sicily earthquake was a natural disaster that struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, then a territory part of the Crown of Aragon by the Kings of Spain Calabria and Malta, on 11 January at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was ...

flattened the prior structure, which was located near the present church of San Biagio in Piazza Stesicoro, the present buildings were erected circa 1720 under the patronage of the aristocrat Giuseppe Asmundo Mendicino, work continued by his heirs. The Asmundo familyThe Palazzo Asmundo, former residence of the family, is located on Via Ospizio di Beneficenza, corner with Via Greco, four blocks to the east of the Conservatory. remained as directors into the 20th century. The church of Sant'Agata del Conservatorio delle Verginelle has a narrow, three-story facade on via Greco, with the top story having a three-arch veranda from which the girls could watch processions pass by. A similar conservatory for girls in town was affiliated with the church of Santa Maria della Purità.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verginelle Roman Catholic churches in Catania Orphanages in Italy