Church of the Holy Spirit in Syracuse
The Church of the Holy Spirit of Syracuse is located on the seafront of Ortigia .
The church was built during the Spanish domination by the architect Pompeo Picherali, in 1727. and built on the ruins of the "First Church" of Syracuse, founded in the fourth century AD. C. by Bishop Germano and destroyed in the earthquake of 1693.
The tower facade, in white limestone typical of Syracuse, is in eighteenth-century Baroque style, rich in decorations and Corinthian architectural elements. The dome behind it, the only one existing in Ortigia, has no Baroque elements as it is presumed to have been rebuilt similar to that of the pre-existing church.
The interior consists of three naves arranged in a Latin cross with barrel vaults decorated with stucco and frescoes. Of value are the frescoes by Ermenegildo Martoranae and Antonio Madiona.
The Church of the Holy Spirit still houses the millenary seat of the " Confraternity of the Holy Spirit ". On Holy Thursday, the Confraternity used to set up with man-sized statues the representation of a stage of the Via Crucis, since the theme varied every year dozens of faithful and onlookers went to the Church of the Holy Spirit to discover and admire the "mystery "Of the representation. Today this tradition continues to live thanks to a small group of Syracusans.
