In 1744 the statue of Saint Agatha, patron saint of the city, was placed in the current Piazza Dei Martiri in Catania. The work was carried out by the Palermitan sculptor Michele Orlando. The citizens on the outskirts of Etna decided to erect monument in recognition of their Patroness who helped her fellow citizens through prodigious actions, after the terrible plague epidemic of 1743 which broke out in the city of Messina and spread in the city of Catania.
The statue was erected on the top of a column of uncertain origin; some believe that it was recovered from the ancient Amphitheater, others that it is one of the eight Roman columns which were inside the Norman Cathedral. The Saint is depicted in the act of crushing a poisonous hydra, symbol of the plague.
“DOM DIVAE AGATHAE CIVI A PESTE SERVATRICI MDCCXLIII (“TO GOD THE GREAT MAGNUM, SAINT AGATHA PRESERVER OF THE CITY FROM THE PEST, 1743″).”1
Bibliography
- Salvatore Rocca, Sicilia In Arte – Il monumento a Sant’Agata in Piazza dei Martiri, ViviCatania, 14 Settembre 2016;
- Lucio Sciacca, Catania com’era, Cavalotto, 1992