Church of Sant'Antonio a Buccheri
Davide Mauro - CC4.0
The church of Sant'Antonio a Buccheri, located at the top of a large and steep staircase, with its high and slender facade, dominates the whole city.
The year of construction is not known but an inscription placed on a cornerstone of the apse bears the date 1212, which could probably be the year of construction.
The original structure had an inverse orientation compared to the current one: the facade looked towards Piazza Fratti, which in the Middle Ages represented the pulsating center of the town. Following the earthquake of 1693, which completely destroyed the ancient structure, it was decided to build the new sacred building on the same site but with larger dimensions and a different orientation, so as to face south where the city had already expanded. Thus the urban space was redefined on a symbolic level by creating a geometric scheme typical of the Baroque, defined at the four cardinal points by the church of the Santissimo Crocifisso di Monte Calvario, by the church of Santa Maria Maddalena, by the Mother church and by the church of Sant'Antonio.
The majestic columned facade with bell tower was built several times by Rosario Martelli and later by the architect Don Salvatore Alì. The will of the confrati was that the facade should have a solemn appearance and for this reason the project was appraised by the architect Don Antonino Battaglia of Catania who provided in May 1793 a new design with the modifications which Ali will have to comply with.
The interior, with three naves, has a basilica layout. The stuccos of the central nave are by Giuseppe Gianforma and were made in 1757.
Among the works kept inside the church, of particular value are: Sant'Antonio in ecstasy by Guglielmo Borremans; San Vito with the saints Modesto and Crescenza by the same author of 1728; the frontal of the altar consisting of a marble slab on which a relief, probably of seventeenth-century workmanship, with biblical scenes is carved.
