cathedral of
Catania
- churches in Catania - monuments in Catania - Sant'Agatha Catania - dome Catania - visit
Catania - interesting place in Catania - dome square Catania
The Cathedral of
Catania was built between 1078 and 1093 by Norman. Destroyed
almost by the earthquake of 1693, it was rebuilt. The baroque
facade was made by Giovan Battista Vaccarini. In the middle of
the second order the statue of Sant'Agata is found. The interior
of the church contains some important testimonies of the
Catanese history and of the devotion towards Sant'Agata. The
present plan with 3 aisles is the resultant of different
interventions that have followed and overlapped each other in
the course of ages. The foundations rest on a thermal building
of the Roman age. In 1100 Count Roger raised the cathedral with
the function of a church-fortress just because built near the
sea. Leaned to the second pillar of the central nave is the
grave of the catanese musician Vincenzo Bellini. On the
right-hand site of the hight altar there is the chapel of
Sant'Agata protected by an elaborate wrought-iron fence. the
relics of saint are kept in this area.
