Description
The Church of San Domenico, also known as Santa Maria la Grande, is the Baroque church of the Dominican friars on Piazza San Domenico, in Catania, at the top of a broad flight of steps closed by a wrought-iron gate: a quiet stop a short walk from Villa Bellini.
Inside, a single nave with six side altars holds two works worth seeing: the Madonna della Neve (Our Lady of the Snow) by Antonello Gagini, with bas-reliefs on the pedestal, and the large panel of the Virgin of the Rosary from 1531, attributed to Innocenzo da Imola. Above the portal, the statue of the Blessed Bernardo Scammacca.
The Madonna della Neve links the church to Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, which according to tradition was founded by Pope Liberius in the 4th century: this is why churches with this title are called "Liberian" or, more simply, "of the Snow." The 1693 earthquake left church and convent unusable, and the church was rebuilt next to the restored convent.
Inside, a single nave with six side altars holds two works worth seeing: the Madonna della Neve (Our Lady of the Snow) by Antonello Gagini, with bas-reliefs on the pedestal, and the large panel of the Virgin of the Rosary from 1531, attributed to Innocenzo da Imola. Above the portal, the statue of the Blessed Bernardo Scammacca.
The Madonna della Neve links the church to Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, which according to tradition was founded by Pope Liberius in the 4th century: this is why churches with this title are called "Liberian" or, more simply, "of the Snow." The 1693 earthquake left church and convent unusable, and the church was rebuilt next to the restored convent.