Church of Sant'Antonio Abate

The Church of Sant'Antonio Abate rises on the border between the old city of Palermo and the new one, in the place of the remains of the ancient tower of Pharat and Baych and one of the nine city gates of the ancient Arab wall fortification, the so-called "gate" Bab-al bahr ".

The first news of its construction dates back to 1220, when the parish prerogative was transferred to it from the church of San Cataldo.

The church was flanked by a bell tower probably financed by Manfredi Chiaramonte the Elder and built between 1302 and 1313, originally for civic purposes, so much so that on its top was placed the bell of the Palermo Senate which had elected the church as its own institutional chapel.

In the Renaissance period, between 1516 and 1536, the entire church was rebuilt by the architect Antonio Belguardo, on this occasion the Norman structure, with a Greek shape, was maintained but enlarged until it touched the tower.

There are several artists who embellished the church from a pictorial and plastic point of view from the mid-sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. By Antonino Gagini (son of Antonello Gagini, marble master) is the icon representing the "Blessed Sacrament", made between 1551 and 1561.

By Vito D'Anna is the canvas representing the "Baptism of Christ", made in 1756 and placed behind the Baptistery, the work of Filippo Pennino (1756) based on a design by Ignazio Marabitti. By Gaspare Bazzano, better known with the name of the Zoppo di Gangi is the canvas depicting Sant'Antonio Abate.

Map: Church of Sant'Antonio Abate