Presentation
The Cistercian monastery and the Church of the Holy Spirit (Santo Spirito in Italian) were built between 1173 and 1178 south of Palermo, near the Oreto river. First inhabited by the monks of Sambucina in Calabria, it came in 1232 under the dependence of the Cistercian abbey of Casamari, near Rome.
It is also referred to as the Church of the Vespers because on 31 March 1282 an episode of the “Sicilian Vespers” took place there, when on Easter Monday a Palermitan seized the sword of a French soldier and killed him for having insulted his wife. This event is said to have triggered the revolt that led to the expulsion of the French from Sicily.
Today the church stands inside the Sant’Orsola cemetery, laid out at the end of the 18th century on the site of the abbey, which was demolished.
The building has undergone many alterations over the course of history, and its Norman structure was restored towards the end of the 19th century, eliminating the heavy Baroque additions.
Its architecture is marked by Arab-Norman and Cistercian Gothic styles, with pointed crossed arches and windows framed by fine two-tone bands. The projecting facade is of a later and unfinished period.
The sober interior consists of three naves separated by massive pillars, circular along the nave and rectangular in the transept, supporting pointed arches. The apses are preceded by honeycomb columns
Where the Church of the Holy Spirit is located in Palermo
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.
Chiesa di Santo Spirito
Camposanto di Santo Spirito – Piazza Sant’Orsola, 2, 90124 Palermo
Information
Chiesa di Santo Spirito (90127 Palermo)
Camposanto di Santo Spirito – Piazza Sant’Orsola, 2, 90124 Palermo
Sources and external sites
- Church of the Holy Spirit on Wikipedia FR
- Municipal sites and official guide: turismo.comune.palermo.it, www.palermoviva.it