Santa Maria La Cava E Sant'Alfio
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The Chiesa madre of Santa Maria la Cava e Sant'Alfio (''Mother Church of St. Mary of the Pit and St. Alphius'') is the main
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
church in
Lentini Lentini ( scn, Lintini, historically Liuntini; la, Leontīnī; grc, Λεοντῖνοι) is a town and in the Province of Syracuse, South East of Sicily (Southern Italy). History The city was founded by colonists from Naxos as Leontini in 72 ...
, province of Syracuse, Sicily Italy.


History and description

The present church was built after the
1693 Sicily earthquake The 1693 Sicily earthquake struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, Calabria, and Malta on January 11 at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on January 9. The main quake had an estimated magnitude of 7 ...
by merging the former cathedral of Santa Maria la Cava with the chapter of the
collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by ...
dedicated to the Saints Alphius, Philadelphus and Cyrinus. Construction began in 1700 and continued until 1750. Built in baroque-style, the interior has three
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
s. In the left nave, the reliquary float of St. Alphius, made of silver, is stored. The float is carried in a procession through the main streets of
Lentini Lentini ( scn, Lintini, historically Liuntini; la, Leontīnī; grc, Λεοντῖνοι) is a town and in the Province of Syracuse, South East of Sicily (Southern Italy). History The city was founded by colonists from Naxos as Leontini in 72 ...
during the celebrations for Saints Alphius (9–11 May), the
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of the town. The right nave hosts the sepulchres of the martyrs Alphius, Philadelphus and Cyrinus. Notably, the church hosts a
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
icon of the
Virgin Hodegetria A Hodegetria , ; russian: Одиги́трия, Odigítria ; Romanian: Hodighitria, or Virgin Hodegetria, is an iconographic depiction of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) holding the Child Jesus at her side while pointing to him as the source of sa ...
dated from the 12th century.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Cava Lentini 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy