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, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: Chiesa del Santissimo Salvatore) is a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

-style,

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 lette ...

church located on #396 of the ancient main street of the Palermo, the

Cassaro Cassaro ( Sicilian: ''Càssaru'', in the local dialect: ''Càssuru'') is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily (Italy). The name is originally from the Arabic word القصر (''al-Qasru'') meaning "the castle." ...

, presently Via Vittorio Emanuele, in the ancient

quarter A quarter is one-fourth, , 25% or 0.25. Quarter or quarters may refer to: Places * Quarter (urban subdivision), a section or area, usually of a town Placenames * Quarter, South Lanarkshire, a settlement in Scotland * Le Quartier, a settlement ...

of the Albergaria of the city of

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , 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 ...

, region of Sicily, Italy.

History

Palermo-Sicily-Italy - Creative Commons by gnuckx (3491870773)

This site for the present church was formerly the location of a

Basilian Basilian may refer to a number of groups who are followers of Saint Basil the Great and specifically to: * Basilian monks (founded c. 356), monks who follow the rule of Saint Basil the Great, in modern use refers to monks of Eastern Catholic Chur ...

monastery and church dedicated to the Saviour, founded in 1072 by the Norman

Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard (; Modern ; – 17 July 1085) was a Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. Robert was born into the Hauteville family in Normandy, went on to become count and then duke of Apulia and Calabri ...

. The church and monastery continued having royal patronage under the Swabian rule. It was said that

Constance, Queen of Sicily Constance I ( it, Costanza; 2 November 1154 – 27 November 1198) was reigning Queen of Sicily from 1194–98, jointly with her spouse from 1194 to 1197, and with her infant son Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1198, as the heiress of the ...

(1154-1198) had been confined to the church as a nun since childhood, due to the prediction that "her marriage would destroy Sicily" before 30, when she was eventually engaged for political reasons. In 1501, the monastery was converted to the Latin Rite. In 1528, a new church was rebuilt with three naves; it was repositioned in an opposite orientation to the former building. In 1682, the present layout was designed by

Paolo Amato (architect) Paolo Amato (24 January 1634 - 3 July 1714) was an Italian Baroque and Rococo architect. He is also notable as author of the treatise ''La Nuova Pratica di Prospettiva'' (''The New Method of Perspective''), published in Palermo in 1732. Life Born ...

, who was helped by the Jesuit 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. The Earthquake of Terrasini 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 Vito D'Anna (14 October 1718 – 13 October 1769) was an Italian painter, considered the most prominent painter of Palermitan rococo and one of the most important artists of Sicily. Biography He was the father of Alessandro D'Anna, the brother- ...

, 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 was designed in 1856 by

Giuseppe Patricolo Giuseppe Patricolo (1834 – 1905) was an Italian architect and engineer, best known for restoring many of the medieval, including Norman architecture, buildings in and near his native Palermo in Sicily. In 1866, he was named professor of descri ...

. In 1943, the allied bombardment of the city, devastated the interior of the church. 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 twelve-dimensional 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 the stuccoes by the master Francesco Alaimo. Inside there are three chapels, the largest one is dominated by a small dome frescoed by

Filippo Tancredi Filippo Tancredi (1655–1722) was an Italian painter. Biography He was born in Messina to a minor painter and his mother, who was sister of the painter Filippo Giannetto.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 architecture in Palermo 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy {{Italy-church-stub