Santa Maria della Catena, Palermo
Santa Maria della Catena is a church in Palermo, Sicily, Italy.
Church of Saint Mary of the Chain | |
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Chiesa di Santa Maria della Catena (in Italian) | |
The Catalan Gothic porch | |
Religion | |
Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
Province | Archdiocese of Palermo |
Rite | Roman Rite |
Location | |
Location | Palermo, Italy |
Geographic coordinates | 38°07′09.15″N 13°22′10.51″E |
Architecture | |
Style | Catalan Gothic |
Groundbreaking | 1490 |
Completed | 1520 |
The church was built in 1490-1520, designed by Matteo Carnilivari. The name derives from the presence, on one of the walls, of a chain (Italian: catena) which closed the Cala port.
The work mixes late Renaissance style and Gothic-Catalan style, the latter especially visible in the three-part arcaded loggia located at the top of a staircase (added in 1845). The interior is also late Gothic, and includes a canvas of Nativity with Adoration of the Shepherds (17th century) by an unknown master, and 16th-century bas-reliefs attributed to Vincenzo and Antonello Gagini, who also sculpted the capitals of the columns and the entrance portals.
Annexed to the church is a 1602 convent house, which, starting from 1844, has been the seat of the State Archive.