Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli in Syracuse
The Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli was commissioned by the Syracusan people as thanks for the help received from the Madonna during the plague of 1500. The name of the church recurs the miracle performed by an image of the Madonna to stop the epidemic.
The building stands on the site of the ancient church dedicated to San Giorgio. The earthquake of 1693 severely damaged the church, which was promptly rebuilt the following year.
The facade has a fine Renaissance-style marble portal surrounded by fluted semi-columns and surmounted by an architrave where the date of construction is engraved, the image of S. Lucia and the coats of arms of the city. Particularly interesting are the marble jambs where floral reliefs are carved and the threshold where the figures of two small lions can be seen. The prominent element of the facade is the lunette in which there is a sculptural group of the Madonna and Child between the saints Rocco and Sebastiano.
The interior, with a nave, is characterized by the presence of an arch that delimits the apse. Here we find decoration with zoomorphic figures of the Catalan style. The elegant pentagonal aedicule to the left of the portal in which a reproduction of the Madonna and Child by Giovanni della Robbia is kept.
