San Francesco Saverio (Palermo)
San Francesco Saverio is a Baroque church in Palermo .
Building history
The church, located in Piazza San Francesco Saverio, near Corso Tukory, was designed and built by Angelo Italia from Licata on behalf of the Jesuits from 1684 . In 1710 the construction was completed, in 1711 it was consecrated by Bishop Bartolo Castelli to the Jesuit Franz Xaver (1506–1552), who was canonized in 1622 . The building is crowned by a main and four secondary domes. The decoration of the interior dragged on until 1743.
The facade
The facade is strongly emphasized horizontally and summarized by a protruding beam . In front of the facade there are four mighty columns with Corinthian capitals on high plinths, which give rhythm to the entablature. The four arched niches remained empty, the sculptures intended for them were never executed. The entrance area is flanked by two twisted columns, above the door there is a relief with the image of St. Francis Xavier in a medallion supported by putti . The upper area is set up as a display wall and is closed off by a flat gable. The right part of the facade is continued upwards through the bell tower, a second tower planned on the left side was not implemented.
The inner
The floor plan is designed as a central building with seven chapels. Eight hexagonal columns with Doric capitals are connected by a cornice on which open arches support the central pendentive dome . The trumpets are decorated with scenes from the life of St. Francis Xavier. The total of 24 columns refer to the 12 prophets and the 12 apostles (the Old and New Testaments). The church was decorated with colored marble, stucco, sculptures and paintings by lesser-known artists such as Tommaso Maria Sciacca, Marino Tarsi, Antonio Rallo, Vincenzo Vitagliano as well as Baldessare and Gioacchino Pennino .
literature
- Nino Alfano: La Chiesa di San Francesco Saverio. Dalla fabbrica alla suppellettile. Abadir, San Martino delle Scale 2003, ISBN 88-87727-03-1 ( Arte e teologia 5).
- Maria Giuffre: Baroque Sicily. Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2007, ISBN 978-3-86568-264-2 , pp. 28, 46, 101, 103 and 159.
- Valeria Viola: La Chiesa di San Francesco Saverio. Arte, storia, teologia. Abadir, San Martino delle Scale 1999, ISBN 88-87727-03-1 ( Arte e teologia 3).
Web links
- Official website of the Church (Italian)
- Description of the church on the website of the "Centro Sociale" (Italian)
Coordinates: 38 ° 6 ′ 33.9 ″ N , 13 ° 21 ′ 30.7 ″ E