Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

The church of San Francesco d'Assisi all'Immacolata is located on the site where the Franciscan order settled in the 13th century. In 1329 the Queen Consort of Sicily Eleanor of Anjou promoted the construction of the primitive convent and church of St. Francis of Assisi all'Immacolata. Destroyed in 1693 by the Val di Noto earthquake, the church had to be rebuilt in the 18th century.

The church of San Francesco Saverio was built between 1708 and 1711 in a Jesuit complex many. After the suppression of the Society of Jesus in 1773, the church was in a state of abandonment until the occupation of the French (1796-1814) who turned it into an arms depot. With the rehabilitation of the Order (after 1815), it was possible to retake possession of the building, but it was only restored for the first time in 1895.

The church of San Francesco was built in the 13th century as a monastery church dedicated to San Fortunato. The chapel on the right, dedicated to St. Anthony, was added during the seventeenth century and decorated with precious frescoes by the painters Antonio and Francesco Nasini. The bell tower that rises on the rear right side of the church was destroyed by lightning and raised in 1926 by the architect Lorenzo Porciatti.

The church of San Gennaro was built in the 16th century on the remains of a previous church of the same name. The interior, in the shape of a Latin cross with three naves, is decorated with a series of altars, among which the nineteenth-century Chapel of the Sacred Heart, by Domenico Rispoli-Zingone, in the right nave, the Carmine altar with the table of the Madonna of Carmel, and the altar of the Crucifix, in the left nave.

The first mention of the church of San Giacomo Pellegrino dates back to 1349. The whole building is surrounded by a small wall, with access through an arched door. Inside the church there is a beautiful triptych in Gothic style dating back to 1517. The church acquired its present appearance around 1500.

Originally built in 1574 on the site of the monastery, which housed the statues of St. Peter and San Ginés, was flooded and completely rebuilt in 1667. It was extended in the 18th and 19th centuries by San Ginés ( St. Genesius of Clermont) who is the patron saint of the island.

The Church of San Gioacchino in Prati was built at the request of Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903), from 1891 to 1911, although the church opened its doors in 1898. The church, built by the architect Raffaele Ingami, has three naves, in the shape of a Latin cross, separated by pink granite columns with bronze capitals. It appears sumptuously decorated with polychrome marble and metal furniture. The central door is flanked by two columns donated by the Tsar of Russia.

The church of San Giorgio al Corso was built as a parish church at the end of the 16th century, but after its complete destruction by the 1908 earthquake, it was rebuilt in 1935. On the side of the church are the archaeological remains of a religious structure of the medieval city of Reggio.

The church of San Giorgio dei Genovesi was built between 1575 and 1596 by the Piedmontese architect Giorgio Di Faccio for the Genoese merchants of Palermo. The exterior is dominated by forms and styles of Tuscan origin, while the interior shows the union of Byzantine and Norman art. Inside the building, numerous tombstones bear witness to the competition between the wealthiest Genoese families to gain prestigious recognition in the Church of the Nation. Among those buried in the church is Sofonisba Anguissola (1532 - 1625), a woman painter famous for her portraits of the court of Philip II of Spain.

The Church of San Giorgio dei Greci is the main Orthodox church in Venice. The community of Greeks was formed over time in Venice due to the Ottoman expansion. In 1453, the fall of Constantinople brought thousands of Greek refugees to the city. In June 1526, the Council of Ten authorised the community to build its own Orthodox church: work began in 1530 and was completed in 1571.