Santissimo Salvatore (Messina)
The Church of Santissimo Salvatore (Most Holy Savior) in Messina is the former cathedral of the Archimandritate of San Salvatore , an association of Byzantine monasteries in Sicily and Calabria. Since the final unification of the Archimandrite with the Archdiocese of Messina in 1986, it has served as a co- cathedral of the Archdiocese, which today bears the name Archdiocese of Messina-Lipari-Santa Lucia del Mela . The church is not far from Messina Cathedral on Via San Giovanni Bosco and is looked after by the Salesians of Don Bosco .
history
In 1094, Count Roger I had a Greek monastery built at the far end of the San Ranieri peninsula , which was dedicated to the Most Holy Redeemer. His son, King Roger II , had the church of this monastery enlarged and made it the main church of the newly established Archimandrite of San Salvatore , an ecclesiastical district that consisted of a group of Byzantine monasteries in Sicily and Calabria .
This monastery had to move its location several times: In the 16th century, Charles V had the old monastery demolished in order to build a fortress in its place, and a new monastery was built on the site where the Museo Regionale di Messina now stands. After the Archimandritate was elevated to an independent diocese in 1635, the monastery church became a cathedral. The monastery and cathedral were completely destroyed in the Messina earthquake in 1908 .
Archbishop and Archimandrite Angelo Paino had the Archimandrite Cathedral rebuilt in its current location in 1929. The inauguration took place on May 6, 1933, the church consecration took place on May 30, 1964 by Archbishop Francesco Fasola .
From 1943 to 1946 SS. Salvatore also served as the Cathedral of Messina, as the actual cathedral was badly damaged by bombs.
description
The church rises above the plan of a Latin cross with a length of 105 m and a width of 56 m. The neoclassical facade with Corinthian columns is crowned by a tympanum showing a relief representation of Jesus Christ . The crossing has a dome.
Inside the church, three naves are separated from each other by Corinthian columns. The three 17th century altars in the apses come from the church that was destroyed by the earthquake.
A wooden crucifix from the 17th century in the right aisle is particularly valuable.
Web links
- SS Salvatore on torrese.it ( in Italian )
Coordinates: 38 ° 11 ′ 28.6 ″ N , 15 ° 33 ′ 3 ″ E