San Sebastiano is a Baroque-style Roman Catholic church located in the town of

Melilli Melilli ( Sicilian: ''Miliḍḍi'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily (southern Italy), located about southeast of Palermo and about northwestern of Syracuse. Geography Melilli stands at about above sea leve ...

, province of Siracusa, 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. It is located along a hill above the town, along Via Italia, which has a scenic park and overlook from where one can look towards the industrial refineries along the Mediterranean coast near Augusta.

History and description

A church near the present space was erected near a grotto or cave named ''Carcarella'', where a frescoed aedicule depicted an image of St Sebastian, the titular saint. To this church, in 1414, was also translated a wood icon putatively of the Saint rescued from a shipwrecked English boat located near the bay of Stentinello. This early church had a north-facing facade, but was razed by the 1683 Sicily earthquake. Only the wooden statue of St Sebastian survived. Reconstruction began in 1695, employing the designs of

Francesco Rinaldi Francesco Rinaldi is a brand of pasta sauce with an Italian flavor. It is manufactured as the only private-label product of the independent, privately owned LiDestri Foods (formerly Cantisano Foods), which also operates as a contract food manufac ...

, Francesco Pattavina, and Geronimo Palazzotto. The facade had merely been completed at the first story, when the highly decorated upper floors were erected under the designs of

Nicolò Sapia Nicolò () is an Italian male given name. Another variation is Niccolò, most common in Tuscany. It may refer to: * Nicolò Albertini, statesman * Nicolò Amati, luthier * Nicolò Barella, Italian footballer * Nicolò Barattieri, Italian engineer * ...

. In 1702 the surrounding loggia was erected. The bronze and wooden portal doors of the facade were designed in the 20th century by Domenico Girbino. The wooden ceiling was painted by Olivio Sozzi with a ''Triumph of the Faith''.Comune of Melilli
information on church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sebastiano Melili 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Baroque church buildings in Sicily