Badia Nuova

Badia Nuova

The façade
Basic information
Location Alcamo, province of Trapani, Italy
Geographic coordinates 37°58′49″N 12°58′06″E / 37.98019°N 12.96836°E / 37.98019; 12.96836Coordinates: 37°58′49″N 12°58′06″E / 37.98019°N 12.96836°E / 37.98019; 12.96836
Affiliation Benedictine
Rite Catholic
Municipality Alcamo
Territory Alcamo
State Italy
Province province of Trapani
Region Sicily
Patron saint Francis of Paola
Architect(s) Giovan Biagio Amico
Architectural type baroque
Founder Father Filippo Scamacca
Groundbreaking 1531
Interior of the church.

Badia Nuova is a Catholic church located in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani, Sicily, southern Italy.

Adjoining the church there is the convent of Saint Francis of Paola.

History

The church was founded in 1531 by Father Filippo Scamacca, while the convent of Saint Francis of Paola was built some decades later. In 1699 it was pulled down and enlarged with the construction of a new building and some gardens in the first half of the 18th century (1724), under the direction of Giovanni Biagio Amico, an architect from Trapani.[1] Finally in 1968 it was restored because of the Belice Valley earthquake.

The convent was suppressed in 1866, opened again and entirely restored in the subsequent decades.

Description

The church plan is with one nave and a barrel vault with simple pillars, four side altars, and is embellished by a sober stucco decoration.[1]

The convent of saint Francis of Paola

In 1567 Sister Margherita Montesa, together with four sisters, moved here from the convent of Santissimo Salvatore and became the first abbess. Owing to the 1866 Laws, the nunnery had to leave the western wing of the building to a Technica School, later to a lower Vocational School and then to an elementary school;[2] today these premises are used by some associations.

The nuns, faithful to the charisma "ora et labora", live by praying and working. During the day they devote themselves to look after the kitchen garden and other works in the ”convent workshops”[3] such as:

Many years ago the nuns attended Mass behind their high grids, today every morning they are inside the church to hear Mass. Besides they are daily engaged with the Liturgy of the Hours and Lectio Divina, which believers can take part to on request.[4]

Works

Inside the Church there are some 18th century paintings and statues:

Besides them, the high altar is embellished by two wonderful antependiums, embroidered with golden and silver threads by the Benedictine nuns in 1800.[3] In the nunnery there are also: a wooden statue of saint Martha dating back to the 17th century, a painting of Our Lady of Miracles by Giuseppe Renda, and a wonderful wooden tabernacle.[5]

Statues by Serpotta

Inside the Church there are eight beautiful and elegant stucco statues, called allegorical, realized in 1724 by Giacomo Serpotta in the last period of his activity. They are among the artist's most important masterpieces, and are very close to Bernini's work for their expressive energy. Six statues are located along the walls, put on half-height protruding brackets, while two of them, Our lady of Sorrows and Mary Magdalen, adorn the chapel of the Crucifix and are placed on the two sides of the Cross, forming a type of theatrical scene of extraordinary drama. This is one of the characteristics of Serpotta, also visible in many of his other masterpieces.

The statues are the following:

These stuccoes, of great artistic interest, have an unconsumed patina which has disappeared in many others, that is the allustratura which gives to these allegorical the impression of being wonderful alabasters.[6]

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Monastero di S. Francesco di Paola (Badia Nuova)". Comune.alcamo.tp.it. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  2. Cataldo, Carlo (2001). La conchiglia di S.Giacomo p.226. Alcamo: Campo.
  3. 1 2 3 "Fai: La chiesa San Francesco di Paola (Badia Nuova) – I.C. MONTESSORI Alcamo". Icmontessori.it. 2015-01-06. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  4. 1 2 "Monastero Di San Francesco Di Paola Badia Nuova | Turismo Religioso". Vaticanoweb.com. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  5. Carlo Cataldo, Guida storico-artistica dei Beni Culturali di Alcamo-calatafimi-Castellammare del Golfo-salemi-Vita, Alcamo, Sarograf, 1982.
  6. "* ALCAMO, TRA ARTE E CULTURA di Maurizio Bambina | Sicilia l'Isola da amare". Siciliaisoladaamare.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2016-08-08.

Sources

External links

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