Church of Saint Aghata in prison

It’s located in Piazza Santo Carcere, where, in the centre, flourishes the olive tree that is dedicated to one of the St. Agatha legend’s, to the east of the Spanish bastion (the rest of the Charles V’s walls) a short staircase leads to the Church of Saint Aghata in the Prison. The building has several architectural styles: Baroque (in the facade and structure), Romanesque (the portal) and neoclassical (the sanctuary).

The historically most important element of this church is the decorated Romanesque portal, it’s the only existing medieval work that doesn’t reproduce a Catania Arab-Norman style. It’s believed that this portal, full of grotesque figures of men and animals, was part of the ancient cathedral that was destroyed by the earthquake in 1693. In 1760 it was donated to the Holy Prison’s brotherhood, who was completing their Church.

Although this construction is a place of pilgrimage for the St. Aghata’s devotees, in fact, inside two saint relics are preserved: one is the case where were the St. Agatha’s remains during the journey from Constantinople to Catania, the second relic is composed of two lava stone slabs on which there’s the imprint of the Saint’s feet.

Through a small door near the altar comes in to Roman times place, it’s considered the cell where the Saint was closed before her martyrdom. On the main altar is to notice the painting on panel, it’s signed by <<Bernardino Niger grecus>>, representing the St. Aghata’s Martyrdom and dating 1588.