Santissimo Salvatore, Alcamo

Santissimo Salvatore ("Holy Saviour", or Badia Grande) is a Catholic church located in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani.

Not to be confused with Chapel of Santissimo Salvatore, Alcamo.
Santissimo Salvatore
Chiesa del Santissimo Salvatore
The façade
Religion
AffiliationBenedictine
ProvinceTrapani
RegionSicily
RiteCatholic
Patronthe Holy Saviour
Location
LocationAlcamo, province of Trapani, Italy
MunicipalityAlcamo
StateItaly
TerritoryAlcamo
Geographic coordinates37°58′55″N 12°58′00″E
Architecture
Completed14th century

Description

This church, adjoining the nunnery of Badia Grande (today a grammar school) was already existing in 1300, it was rebuilt then in the middle of the 16th century and in the years 1690–97. it was restored in 1737 and embellished with stuccoes. Very interesting are the classical façade, with portals in the windows, and its square bell-tower, with four pointed arches.[1]

The church was closed for several years because of the damages suffered during the 1968 Belice earthquake. Until some years ago, every Wednesday evening they celebrated the Holy Mass in Latin, accompanied by the Gregorian chant and polyphonic ones of the del choir Jacopone da Todi. Inside the Church there are cultural activities connected with the sacred chants, the old one in particular, thanks to the same choir that uses this building on Sunday afternoon and on Wednesday evening.[2]

Works

The church has one nave with a barrel vault and five altars. Inside it there are beautiful works of great artistic value, among which ten stucco statues:[3]

In 1982 the ovals of the Annunciation were stolen, together with the high reliefs of saint Michael the Archangel and with saint John Baptist, one of them was bought again at Sotheby's auction in 1994 for 25 million liras.[4]

The Tabernacle

The marble tabernacle, in high relief and about four metres high, was made by Antonino Gagini and Baldassare Massa (1557–1558). The ciborium, among for kneeling angels, is surmounted by a Crucifix above the figures of saint John the Apostle, the Virgin Mary and the Holy Ghost as a dove and among four angels’ heads:[5] there are also the scene of the Flagellation and the figure of saint John Baptist with Jesus’baptism, saint Michael the Archangel while defeating Satan, the chasing away of the rebel angels into hell, and finally the coat of arms of Alcamo and of the abbess Margherita di Montesa.[5]

She made Baldassare Massa (a sculptor from Palermo) complete the work started by Gagini and inserted seven scenes of the Passion of Jesus, two oval paintings representing saint Benedict and the Redeemer, and a depiction of God the Father with his open arms. The marble tabernacle of the Holy Sacrament was later gilded by Giovan Leonardo Bagolino, a painter from Verona and Sebastiano Bagolino’s father.[5]

Nunnery

The sisters of the nunnery came from noble families; besides religious practices, they created works of sacred handicraft such as plastic polish and ceroplastics, and probably vestments. To avoid the suppression of the convent, owing to the 1866 Laws, they opened a school from 1862 onwards; in fact the sisters administrated a College for Civil Damsels with three classes working inside it;[6] besides reading and writing correctly, they devoted themselves to embroidery, the study of arithmetics, geography and Italian. In the final year they studied history, music and French; the boarding fee also included books, equipment and any medical care.

The convent was suppressed in 1906: the remaining nuns were moved to the nunnery of Badia Nuova, and the premises were first used as barracks, then as schools (primary, nursery and training school). Today they are utilised by the secondary school "Pietro Maria Rocca".[6]

See also

References
  1. "Chiesa del Ss. Salvatore".
  2. "Tela del '700 restaurata tornerà nella sua collocazione nella Chiesa del SS Salvatore di Alcamo | Alqamah".
  3. "Turismo Trapani | Alcamo | Chiesa del monastero del SS Salvatore". Archived from the original on 2015-01-23. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  4. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2016-10-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. Gianni Guadalupi, Mariano Coppola, Alcamo, introduzione di Vincenzo Regina(collana Grand Tour), Milano, Grafiche Mazzucchelli, 1995, ISBN 88 216 0615 5.
  6. Carlo Cataldo: La conchiglia di S.Giacomo p.226; ed.Campo, Alcamo, 2001

Sources
  • Carlo Cataldo: Guida storico-artistica dei beni culturali di Alcamo-Calatafimi-Castellammare Golfo p. 43–44; Sarograf, Alcamo,1982
  • Gianni Guadalupi, Mariano Coppola: Alcamo, introduzione di Vincenzo Regina(collana Grand Tour); Grafiche Mazzucchelli, Milano,1995
  • Carlo Cataldo: La conchiglia di S.Giacomo p. 226; ed.Campo, Alcamo, 2001
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