Church of Santa Maria della Catena in Palermo

The church of Santa Maria della Catena (Saint Mary of the Chain in English) dates back to the era of Catalan Gothic, located near the port of Cala, the oldest port of Palermo.
It was built between 1490 and 1520 by the architect Matteo Carnilivari to replace a small chapel.
It is named this way because on one of its walls was attached a piece of the chain that closed the port. Moreover, in 1063, this chain was stolen by Pisan ships, still preserved in the city museum.

Architecture and works

Santa Maria della Catena

Its style mixes architectural characteristics of the late Renaissance and Catalan Gothic.
The exterior preceded by a staircase is characterized by a portico with three arches with a small tower on each side. The three elegant portals are decorated with scenes from the New Testament.

The interior is simple and refined, with the three naves separated by asymmetrical and lowered arches, supported by slender columns with Corinthian capitals.
Chapels were added later on the side aisles. Those on the left were destroyed during the last bombardments.

The most important chapel is dedicated to the Madonna della Catena, around which the church was built, with its large 14th-century fresco (rediscovered in the 1990s) and its baldachin with alabaster columns. There one sees the child Jesus with adult features, as in the typical iconography of Byzantine inspiration (Jesus would always have been wise and mature).

Other works of great interest are found in the church, from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Where Santa Maria della Catena is located

Photo gallery

Information

Santa Maria della Catena
Piazzetta delle Dogane, 1, 90133 Palermo PA

External sites

• Wikipedia page (in Italian): en.wikipedia.org
• Tourist portals: turismo.comune.palermo.it, www.palermoviva.it

Churches of Palermo