It is getting closer and closer with its rites, its customs, colours and flavours, the The most heartfelt celebration among the people of Catania, the one dedicated to Saint Agatha. We at itCatania we went through the streets of Old Town for a little tour in search of the votive shrines and more particular representations dedicated to the patron saint of Catania.
Popular religiosity through votive shrines
The one of Saint Agatha is traditionally recognized as the third most important religious holiday in the world after Holy Week in Seville and the Feast of Corpus Christi in Guzco, Peru, due to the very high number of people participating. feast of Sant'Agata It is also considered a ethno-anthropological asset and world heritage site of the city of Catania and the world. In the name of the rediscovery of historical traditions and artistic of Catania, operated for some years, particular attention is given to the aspects of popular religiosity. votive kiosks They are a very important testimony of this.
Origin of votive shrines
Newsstand comes from the Latin aedicula , diminutive of “aedes”, indicating a miniature temple, with the function of protecting the deity of the house. These aedicules have Roman origins, we remember the lari e PenatesIn fact, they were built to appease the gods and, in the Christian era, to protect the home or to thank a saint for a particular grace received. During disasters and particularly difficult situations for the population, the construction of these structures was very massive; the shrines were built at strategic points in city neighborhoods. Epigraphs and inscriptions are often found. They were decorated with flowers, fruit, and lamps.
Thirty-one votive shrines dedicated to Saint Agatha
Walking through the historic center, the gaze often stops to observe the many newsagents which cover the external walls of houses and buildings of various kinds, depicting sacred subjects. Last year, 2009, the Superintendency of Cultural and Environmental Heritage he surveyed in the city 240 votive shrines, 31 of which dedicated to Saint Agatha. Last year, the church Badia di Sant'Agata has set up an exhibition of the most interesting and significant shrines dedicated to the patron saint.
the relics of the body of Saint Agatha left when it was transported, in 1040, by the general
Giorgio Maniace, in Constantinople. Photo by Sabrina Portale
They are mostly located in the heart of the historic center, along Plebiscito Street, towards the Marina (especially on the wall of Alonzo Consoli Palace), a Porta Garibaldi, in Holy Child Street (near Piazza Dante, site of the old hospital), then passing through the historical fishmongerin Dusmet Street, Porticello Street, continuing then for Frederick of Swabia Square, corner Guardian Angels Street, in the district of St. Mary of the Palm, in the district of S. Cosimo and Sant'Agata alle Sciare, near via Umberto in particular in Spampinato Street e Jolanda Square; we then continue on to Majorana Crucifix Square, Monsignor Ventimiglia Street, St. Beryl, to go back to Nesima.
The most evocative images of Sant'Agata
There are many historic votive shrines dedicated to the saint in various neighborhoods of the city. The oldest is located at Via Plebiscito 215 and is thought to be over 100 years old. The shrines are made of a variety of materials: frescoes, illustrated or hand-painted paper with classic effigies of the Catanian martyr, and even majolica.
Let's remember the main ones:
– near the Duomo, exactly in the arch next to Uzeda door which leads into the fish market and along via Dusmet, there is the so-called " to funtanedda "The Lanaria Spring, created in 1621 by Francesco LanarioIt is a fountain altar inserted inside part of the walls built by Charles VAccording to tradition, the fountain was built to commemorate the point from which Agatha's body was transported to Constantinople in 1040 by the Byzantine general George. Maniace.
– On the way Porticello, n° 18, along via Cristoforo Colombo, the classic image of is depicted Saint Agatha in prisonIt is a votive altar shrine with a particular structure, with elements of Gothic art whose precise dating is unknown.
Other places with images of Sant'Agata
Next to the Blockhouse o Porta Garibaldi there is the image of Saint Agatha holding the pincers, the instrument of her martyrdomIt is an object of veneration for devotees who leave flowers and candles here.
Right on the walls of Porta Garibaldi Palestro Square, in the triumphal arch on the right, there is a small altar with the effigy of the reliquary bust of Saint Agatha, printed and placed inside a small altar, built around 1768, decorated with flowers and candles.
Long Plebiscito Street there are numerous small shrines or often naive images of Saint Agatha.
At TheOld Course, a few steps from St. Agatha the Vetere There is a shrine built by local residents together with members of the Vittorio Emanuele Ferrarotto hospital, dating back to the late 1800s.
La polychrome ceramics used a Caltagirone, is the technique used to create the depiction of Saint Agatha in prison in Spampinato Street, cross street of the central station Umberto Street.
Saint Agatha created by the artist Ligama with its usual colored pixel technique in 2018 is kept inside the courtyard of Palace Platamone, home of the Palace of Culture.
In the center of the roundabout Roll Street, zone Ognina, there is a shrine with a marble plaque depicting the return of the saint's relics from Constantinople.
Niches and sacred images in the Etna villages
Even today, the presence of these buildings is constant throughout the
Catania area and the Etna villages, especially in rural and suburban areas. cult of Saint Agatha finds evidence in the aedicule built in Nicolosi in 1900, to commemorate when the lava, in 1886, stopped thanks to the intervention of the martyr. It was the Cardinal Dusmet to bring the sacred veil in that place and intercede so that the river of fire would stop. After the miracle occurred, this small altar was erected.
In addition to Acicastle, on an ancient building in the historic centre of the seaside village, in the so-called "quattro canti", there is a votive shrine with a statue of Saint Agatha which recalls the delivery of the sacred relics of the martyr to the Benedictine bishop abbot Maurizio, which took place under the castle on August 17, 1126.
Finally, a votive shrine is found in the hamlets of Sarro-Fleri, near Zafferana. Here it is said that the relics of the saint were hidden in 1943, precisely in a wooden house kept inside the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, to protect them from bombings of the Second World War and from the desires of the Germans and Anglo-Americans.
These are treasures often hidden in alleys and suburbs, jewels of sacred art that are often under-appreciated, but which tell the story of who we were and who we are, perhaps offering new cultural experiences aimed at discovering our identity.
Sources: Saint Agatha, propitious star; “Ark of Sounds – CRICD Sicilian Region"; http://www.cronacaoggiquotidiano.it/; Objective Catania, Milena Palermo; http://www.eastsicily.com/, https://catania.livesicilia.it/.
