San Benedetto Church, Catania, Italy

Dedicated to St. Benedict of Nursia, the church of San Benedetto was built from April 1334, then it was destroyed by 1693 Sicily earthquake. The church and the monastery were rebuilt between 1708 and 1763 and Giovanni Battista Vaccarini was one of the main architects.

The church was also damaged by bombing in World War II and later restored by the architect Armand Dillon.

Its most famous feature is the Angel's Staircase, a marble entrance stair decorated with statues of angels and surrounded by a wrought iron railings. The entrance door, in wood, has panels with Stories of St. Benedict.

The interior, with a single nave, is home to frescoes by Sebastiano Lo Monaco, Giovanni Tuccari and Matteo Desiderato. The vault and semi-dome were painted Giovanni Tuccari with the History of Saint Benedict and six Allegories surrounding the Triumph of Saint Benedict. The Saint is represented in his traditional iconography, in a festive and cheerful scenario. The high altar is in polychrome marble with hardstone intarsia and bronze panels.

References:

Wikipedia

Religious sites in Italy

User Reviews

Arthit Yodyunyong (2 years ago)
Not that the church's not beautiful but personally I think the ticket's too expensive. It was 6 € and you can visit the church and see a small archaeological part. The frescoes featured you can see for free in many churches on Sicily.

bernadette mccluskey (2 years ago)
Beautiful

Eleonora Nat (3 years ago)
It's a beautiful church. I find the entrance a little pricey (5€) if you're not eligible for a discount (meaning you're not a student or an elder). The other churches in the street were closed... My Country confuses me sometimes.

Anne Amison (4 years ago)
We enjoyed a superb tour of the church and the accessible areas of the convent with an audio guide. A beautiful example of Sicilian Baroque.

Nicholas Dutton (4 years ago)
Very good tour of church and convent

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