Church of the Archangel Raphael in Acireale
The Church of the Archangel Raphael in Acireale and the adjoining female Dominican college of the Archangel Raphael constitute an important religious complex in the city.
It was built, together with the monastery of the Archangel Raphael called Retreat of honest damsels, in 1736, at the behest of Mariano Mangani, when his only daughter Venera, at 19 years old, decided to become a nun Dominican.
The façade, built in 1859 based on a design by Lorenzo Maddem, has three portals, the central one being larger and two smaller lateral ones. The two side portals are surmounted by two circular windows. On them and above the central door there are other windows with rich grilles. The façade ends with a tripartite bell loggia, above which you can glimpse a small iron silhouette of the Archangel Raphael.
The interior, with a single nave and small dimensions, features decorations with blue festoons. Along the side walls there are windows with grates which testify to the presence of the cloistered convent.
Inside the church there are works of notable artistic value: the canvas depicting the apparition of the Angel Raphael, placed above the right minor altar, by Pietro Paolo Vasta; the altarpiece depicting the Madonna of the Rosary, the cycle dedicated to Tobit and the Angel and two canvases depicting Melchizedek and Elijah, works by Matteo Desiderato.
