The Church of Most Holy Saviour (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

: Chiesa del Santissimo Salvatore) is a

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,

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church in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

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. It is located at #396 of the ancient main street of Palermo, the Cassaro, presently Via Vittorio Emanuele, in the ancient Albergaria quarter.

History

The site of the present church was formerly the location of a Basilian (Eastern Rite) monastery and church dedicated to the Saviour, founded in 1072 by the Norman

Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard ( , ; – 17 July 1085), also referred to as Robert de Hauteville, was a Normans, Norman adventurer remembered for his Norman conquest of southern Italy, conquest of southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th century. Robert was born ...

. Royal patronage of the church and monastery continued under

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

rule. It was said that Constance, Queen of Sicily (1154-1198) was confined to the church as a nun from her childhood until the age of 30, due to the prediction that "her marriage would destroy Sicily". In 1501, the monastery was converted to the Latin Rite. In 1528, a new church was built on the site with three naves; it was positioned in an opposite orientation to the former building. In 1682, the present layout was designed by Paolo Amato, who was assisted by the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Angelo Italia. Construction proceeded until a formal inauguration in 1700 and consecration in 1704. Much of the interior decoration was added during the 18th century. An earthquake in 1726 caused much damage to the church, including the loss of the main altar designed by Giacomo Amato and Gaetano Lazzara. This led to a further reinforcement of the large dome in 1763 under the direction of Vincenzo Giovenco. The cupola interior was frescoed by Vito D'Anna, who painted a ''Glory of St Basil'' (now fragmentary). Further decoration included the pavements of the Chapels of St Basil (left) and Santa Rosalia (right). The pavement of the main floor was designed in 1856 by Giuseppe Patricolo. In 1943, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the interior of the church was damaged by Allied bombardment of the city. Many of the paintings in the church were destroyed. The present building is only the result of a major restoration, utilizing when possible the remnants of the former decoration. The building plan is an elongated dodecagon, circumscribed by an ellipse whose major axis is from the middle of the entrance. The walls of the church are richly decorated with precious Sicilian polychrome marbles by the master Salvatore Allegra, and above, the dome ceiling is decorated with stuccoes by the master Francesco Alaimo. Inside there are three chapels. The largest one is dominated by a small dome frescoed by Filippo Tancredi. The frescoes on the walls of the entrance staircase depict the ''Miracle of the Healing of the Child by St Basil'' and ''St Basil preaching'', painted by Vito D'Anna. In the apse is a large marble group representing the Crucified Christ between the Archangel Michael,

Saint Cajetan Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene (6 October 1480 – 7 August 1547), known in English as Saint Cajetan ( ), was an Italian Catholic priest and religious reformer, co-founder of the Theatines. He is recognised as a saint in the Catholic Church, and hi ...

, and Saint

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

. Overlooking the present presbytery is a 1725 painting by Cedri depicting the ''Coronation of Santa Rosalia''; it was formerly housed in the nearby Benedictine Monastery of Santa Rosalia, which was razed in the 20th century to expand the Via Roma.Citta Metropolitana
tourism entry.

References

External links

Gaspare Palermo, ''Guida istruttiva per potersi conoscere tutte le magnificenze della Città di Palermo'', Volume III, Palermo, Reale Stamperia, 1816
Salvatore Baroque church buildings in Palermo 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy {{Sicily-RC-church-stub