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Catania, Sicily (Italy) geobeats on May 19, 2011 Catania, Italy ....More
Catania, Sicily (Italy)
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Catania, Sicily (Italy)
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The Cathedral of Catania, entitled to St. Agatha, is a church in Catania, Sicily, southern Italy.
The church has been destroyed and rebuilt several times due earthquakes and eruptions of the nearby volcano Etna. It was originally constructed in 1078-1093, on the ruins of the ancient Roman Achillean Baths, by order of Roger I of Sicily, who had conquered the city from the Islamic emirate of Sicily …More
The Cathedral of Catania, entitled to St. Agatha, is a church in Catania, Sicily, southern Italy.

The church has been destroyed and rebuilt several times due earthquakes and eruptions of the nearby volcano Etna. It was originally constructed in 1078-1093, on the ruins of the ancient Roman Achillean Baths, by order of Roger I of Sicily, who had conquered the city from the Islamic emirate of Sicily. At the time it had the appearance of a fortified church (ecclesia munita).

The bell tower, designed by Carmelo Sciuto Patti.
In 1169 it was nearly entirely destroyed by an earthquake, leaving only the apse area intact. Further damage was introduced by a fire in 1169, but the most catastrophic event was the 1693 earthquake, which again left it mostly in ruins. It was subsequently rebuilt in Baroque style.
Today, traces of the original Norman edifice include part of the transept, the two towers and the three semicircular apses, composed of large lava stones, most of them recovered from imperial Roman buildings.
Exterior
The current appearance of the church date to the 1711 century design of Gian Battista Vaccarini, who designed a new Baroque façade after the 1693 earthquake. It has three floors with Corinthian columns, in granite, perhaps taken from the Roman Theatre of the city. All the orders are decorated with marble statues of St. Agatha over the gate, St. Euplius on the right and St. Birillus on the left. The entrance door, in wood, has 32 sculpted plaques with episodes of the life and martyrdom of St. Agatha, coat of arms of popes and symbols of Christianity.
The dome dates to 1802. The bell tower was originally erected in 1387, with a height of some 70 meters. In 1662 a watch was added, the structure reaching 90 meters; after the 1693 destruction it was rebuilt, with the addition of a 7.5 t bell, the third largest in Italy after that in the St. Peter's Basilica and in the Duomo of Milan.
The parvise is accessed through a marble façade culminating with a wrought iron decorated with 10 bronze statues of saints. The parvise is separated from the Cathedral's square by a balaustrade in white stone, featuring five large statues of saints in Carrara marble.
Interior
The church is on the Latin cross plan, with a nave and two aisles. In the right aisle are the baptistery and, at the first altar, a canvas of St. Febronia of Nisibis by Borremans facing, on a pilaster, the tomb of composer Vincenzo Bellini. Also on a pilaster between this aisles and the nave is the Baroque monument of bishop Pietro Galletti. Also notable is the Chapel of St. Agatha.
The apse dates to the original 12th century construction: it features a medieval mullioned window and a late-16th century choir by the Neapolitan artist Scipione di Guido. At the end of the left transept is the Chapel of the Holy Crucifix, by Domenico Mazzola (1577). It houses the tombs of members of the Aragonese branch of Sicily, such as Kings Frederick III and Louis, John of Randazzo, and Constance.
The left aisle has several 17th century paintings of saints, including one by Borremans.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catania_Cathedral