Church of Sant'Agata al Carcere in Catania
The most historically important element of Church of Sant'Agata al Carcere in Catania is the decorated Romanesque portal, the only existing medieval work in Catania that does not carry an Arab-Norman style.
The portal of this Baroque church belonged to the facade of the ancient Norman Cathedral, saved from the rubble of 1693; it was removed by Gian Battista Vaccarini, who supervised the works for the prospectus of the new temple he designed, and placed until 1750 in the Palazzo Senatorio.
This building is also a place of worship for the devotees of Sant'Agata, in fact, inside there are two relics of the Saint: one is the chest in which the remains of Sant'Agata were kept during the journey from Constantinople to Catania, the second relic is made up of two slabs of lava stone with the imprint of the Saint's feet.
A small door near the altar leads to a room from the Roman era, considered the cell in which the Saint was closed before her martyrdom.
On the High Altar it is worth noting the painting on wood depicting the Martyrdom of Saint Agatha, dated 1588.
