Santa Caterina del Monte di Pietà, Alcamo
| Chiesa di Santa Caterina | |
|---|---|
|
The façade | |
| Basic information | |
| Location | Alcamo, province of Trapani, Italy |
| Rite | Catholic |
| Municipality | Alcamo |
| Territory | Alcamo |
| State | Italy |
| Province | province of Trapani |
| Region | Sicily |
| Patron | Saint Catherine of Alexandria |
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Santa Caterina del Monte di Pietà ("Saint Catherine of the Mount of Piety") was a Catholic church in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani.
History
Closed to service for several decades, and then desecrated, it was important as the Oratory of the Company of Santo Monte di Pietà, which helped and assisted poor and sick people.[1]
Description and works
Inside the church, with one nave, there were some paintings, one of them representing Saint Catherine of Alexandria, later moved to the Sacred Art Museum in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption;[1] the work, dating back to 1621, is assigned to Giuseppe Carrera or to Giacomo Lo Verde.
The façade, with a simple portal, dated 1608, is quite appraisable.
The Confraterny of Santa Caterina
Already existing in 1430 with its premises in the mother church, in 1518 it was called Confraternity of Santo Monte di Pietà and, since 1635, it has probably become the Company of Santo Monte di Pietà.[2]
Its members were "gentlemen and civilians", wore as a dress "sackcloths, cloth mantles and dark grey felt hats, with the emblem of Jesus in the sepulchre",[2] later, since 1635, a sackcloth with white visors and the emblem of Our Lord of Piety on their shoulders.
These were their duties:
- celebrating Saint Catherine of Alexandria on 25 November
- helping the poor with alms.
- taking part to Requiem Masses in the church of St. Catherine, in suffrage of the dead people, every Monday and on the Octave of 2 November
- going on procession, together with priests, as far as the church of Sant' Ippolito, on Easter Monday, in order to take part to the Mass in suffrage of the plague victims in 1575 buried there,.[2]
In 1581 this cemetery was given to this Confraternity in order to build a church consecrated to God, the Virgin Mary, Saint Rocco and Saint Sebastian who were the protectors from plague.
The Company, probably active in 1924, does not exist any longer.
References
Sources
- Carlo Cataldo, Guida storico-artistica dei beni culturali di Alcamo-Calatafimi-Castellammare Golfo p. 61, Alcamo, Sarograf, 1982.
- Carlo Cataldo, La conchiglia di S.Giacomo p. 76, Alcamo, Campo, 2001.