@prefix dcterms: .
@prefix foaf: .
@prefix geo: .
@prefix nsp: .
@prefix rdfs: .
@prefix schema: .
@prefix skos: .
@prefix wgs1: .
@prefix xsd: .
dcterms:license ;
foaf:primaryTopic .
a nsp:PlaceToPlaceLink ;
nsp:hasReference ;
nsp:hasSource ;
nsp:hasTarget ;
nsp:linkRole .
a nsp:Reference ;
nsp:pages "121" ;
nsp:zoteroIri "http://zotero.org/groups/2199947/items/8D8GP7NX" .
a nsp:EarliestSurvivingRecord ;
rdfs:label "1091" ;
nsp:maxYear "1091"^^xsd:gYear ;
nsp:minYear "1091"^^xsd:gYear .
a geo:Geometry ;
geo:asWKT "Point(15.08370 37.50700)"^^geo:wktLiteral .
a nsp:PlaceToPlaceLink ;
nsp:hasReference ;
nsp:hasSource ;
nsp:hasTarget ;
nsp:linkRole .
a nsp:PlaceToPlaceLink ;
nsp:hasReference ;
nsp:hasSource ;
nsp:hasTarget ;
nsp:linkRole .
a nsp:PlaceToPlaceLink ;
nsp:hasReference ;
nsp:hasSource ;
nsp:hasTarget ;
nsp:linkRole .
a nsp:Location ;
nsp:coordinatesFrom ;
nsp:locationHighLoc "Yes" ;
nsp:modernComune "Catania"^^xsd:string ;
nsp:modernProvince "Catania"^^xsd:string ;
nsp:seismicClass ;
geo:hasGeometry ;
rdfs:seeAlso ,
;
wgs1:alt 4.0 ;
wgs1:lat 37.50700 ;
wgs1:long 15.08370 ;
skos:altLabel "Balad-al-Fil",
"Castello Ursino",
"Cathania",
"Qataniah",
"Qatâna" ;
schema:containedInPlace .
a nsp:Reference ;
nsp:pages "117" ;
nsp:zoteroIri "http://zotero.org/groups/2199947/items/8D8GP7NX" .
a nsp:Reference ;
nsp:pages "117" ;
nsp:zoteroIri "http://zotero.org/groups/2199947/items/8D8GP7NX" .
a nsp:Reference ;
nsp:pages "117" ;
nsp:zoteroIri "http://zotero.org/groups/2199947/items/8D8GP7NX" .
a nsp:Reference ;
nsp:pages "43, 48, 53-55, 59-61, 63, 65-67, 69-71, 79, 89, 105-122, 142, 143" ;
nsp:zoteroIri .
a nsp:UncorroboratedInformation .
a nsp:Monastery ;
rdfs:label "Saint Agatha of Catania"@en,
"Sant'Agata di Catania"@it ;
nsp:attestation ,
;
nsp:communityGender ;
nsp:createdBy ;
nsp:createdOn "2019-06-28"^^xsd:date ;
nsp:earliestSurvivingRecord ;
nsp:fieldVisit "2019-09-03"^^xsd:date ;
nsp:hasLink ,
,
,
;
nsp:hasLocation ;
nsp:hasReference ;
nsp:id "78" ;
nsp:monasticOrder ;
nsp:notes """In September 2019, Max Wilson (B.A., architecture, Yale University) performed the field survey, CSSI assessments, and photographed the site. The site is located in the city center of Catania on a mixed residential and retail block named via Santa Maddalena. The site stands on an incline, with views to the sea and the eastern expanse of Catania. In front, there is a small piazza named for the site, which functions as a parking lot. The site is accessible to visitors—locals and tourist alike—and keeps regular hours posted online and on location. Guides stationed inside (it is now a functioning church) give tours for a small fee. The church is oriented along an east-west axis, with its main façade facing west towards via Santa Maddalena. It is surrounded on all sides by neighboring buildings. To the south stands a three-story building that may have originally functioned as the monastery’s cloister, but now appears to be a residential building. To the north stands a courtyard that connects to an adjoining building with residential and retail space. To the east, behind the apse, stands Chiesa Cattolica di Sant'Agata al Carcere. The building plan consists of a single nave with an apse. A small chapel is attached to the church's southern facade, which looks out onto a small walled-in courtyard. The church bell tower is located on top of the apse and is accessible with the permission of the guides. There is a large crypt with an ossuary and a room used for draining the blood of corpses called a colatoio. According to the guide, these rooms served the aristocratic men and women of Catania who wished to be laid to rest in the church. Adjacent to the crypt are the remains of a wall constructed during the Roman Empire, which have been excavated and conserved. The church's main feature is its façade of alternating light and dark stone—the hallmark of Catanese baroque architecture. The entry portal is articulated on either side by decorative pilasters in light stone, and above by a broken pediment. Pilasters also mark the corners of the facade and extend to the entablature, which is crowned by a triangular pediment also rendered in light stone. The baroque interior is relatively simple: white decorative molding frames the ornamental pilasters, clerestory windows, and arches. The barrel-vaulted ceiling is also painted white. The informational sign outside the central portal identifies the building as the former site of the monastery of Sant'Agata di Catania and its annexed abbey church, both of which were constructed in 1091. This original church was the first Norman cathedral in Sicily, though the bishopric was transferred three years later, in 1094, to its present location, the Catania Duomo, Cattedrale di Sant'Agata. This church was thus renamed La Vetere to distinguish it from the new duomo.
The earthquake of 1693 destroyed the church, which was rebuilt in 1722. It was modified several times thereafter due to damage from subsequent earthquakes. The informational sign suggests that the crypt was the only part of the building to survive the 1693 earthquake. This might indicate that there are Norman remains within the crypt, though the guide denied this. In fact, when asked, the guide claimed erroneously that there had never been a Norman building on the site.
The church is located in a seismic zone and seismic activity still poses a significant risk. Pollution from cars parked in the piazza and traffic on the busy thoroughfare of via Santa Maddalena may also pose a risk to the building's stone. Vandalism (which was present at the site), litter in and around the site, and generally poor maintenance also remain active threats."""^^xsd:string ;
nsp:placeType "monastery" ;
nsp:reviewStatus ;
nsp:siteStatus ;
nsp:subjectOfDedication "Christ, the Virgin Mary, Saint Agatha"^^xsd:string ;
nsp:uncorroboratedInformation ;
nsp:updatedBy ;
nsp:updatedOn "2024-10-23"^^xsd:date ;
skos:exactMatch ;
skos:prefLabel "Saint Agatha of Catania"@en .