Sant’Agata la Vetere is a

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 located in the piazza of the same name (along via Santa Maddalena) in

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 ...

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 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 ...

. East of church and nearby, but facing in the other direction, are two other churches dedicated in honor of 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 ...

: the church of Sant'Agata al Carcere and two blocks east on Piazza Stesicoro is

Sant'Agata alla Fornace San Biagio, previously called Sant'Agata alla Fornace or ''La Fornace'' or ''Carcara'' is a Neoclassical architecture, Roman Catholic parish church located at the western edge of the Piazza Stesicoro in the quartiere San Biagio della Calcarella, ...

, now known San Biagio.

History and description

An aedicule recalling the site where Agatha of Sicily fa, was erected by bishop St Everio some 13 years after her death in 264. A church at this site was putatively established by bishop San Severino between 380 and 436, making it among the oldest churches in the city. Enlarged circa 777, the church served as Catania's cathedral for eight centuries, until replaced by the new Sant'Agata Cathedral at the eastern edge of the city, thus the suffix ''la vetere'' given to this church. It is putatively sited at the site where Saint Agatha was placed on trial. Her relics were supposed brought here in the 8th century, when the area was used for burials. It is said the Byzantine general

George Maniakes George Maniakes (; ; died 1043) was a prominent general of the Byzantine Empire during the 11th century. He was the catepan of Italy in 1042. He is known as Gyrgir in Scandinavian sagas. He is popularly said to have been extremely tall and well ...

brought her relics to Constantinople in 1040, during his raid to reconquer what was then the

Emirate of Sicily The island of SicilyIn Arabic, the island was known as (). was under Islam, Islamic rule from the late ninth to the late eleventh centuries. It became a prosperous and influential commercial power in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, with ...

. Putatively they were returned in 1026, though as typical for many saint relics, multiple pieces of her body are claimed by various churches in Europe. Since the start of the 17th-century the church was assigned to the

Franciscan order The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

, who built an adjacent convent. It stood surrounded on three sides by the 16th-century city walls. In 1818, an earthquake caused the roof to collapse. The small church present now was rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake, with traces of the ancient Roman substructures in the crypt. The church houses the putative sarcophagus of Saint Agatha with Roman marble and Byzantine stone additions. Now used as an altar, it once housed the relics of the saint.Visit Catania website, entry on Sant'Agata la Vetere
/ref> The exterior is sparse and sober, with a broken pediment over the portal. The interior contains an altarapiece by

Giuseppe Sciuti Giuseppe Sciuti (Zafferana Etnea, Sicily, 26 February 1834 – Rome, 13 March 1911) was an Italian painter. Biography His father, a pharmacist, insisted his son follow his trade. But he relented and allowed Giuseppe to study locally at age 15, a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agata la Vetere 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Catania