Church of the Holy Spirit

Churches, Culture
Lungomare d'Ortigia - 96100 Siracusa

    The Church of the Holy Spirit was designed by Pompeo Picherali in 1727 and built on the ruins of the “First Church” of Siracusa (founded in the fourth century AC by the Bishop Germano, it was destroyed by the earthquake of 1693).

    The tower facade of the Church of the Holy Spirit, the most beautiful of all those designed by Pompeo Picherali, is in eighteenth-century Baroque style, rich in decorations and in Corinthian architectural elements.

    On the contrary, the rear dome, the only one existing in Ortigia, has no Baroque elements as it is assumed to have been reconstructed similar to the preexisting Church. The interior of the church has three aisles laid out in “Latin cross”, “barrel” vaults decorated with frescoes and stucco. Sacred artworks are held on the main altar and on those of the aisles.

    After restoration, the Church of the Holy Spirit was reopened for worship and still houses the ancient headquarters of “Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit”.

    On Holy Thursday, the Brotherhood used to represent a Station of Via Crucis with man-sized statues and every year it was attracting many faithful and curious people. The Brotherhood, founded in 1652 by Mgr. Giovanni Antonio Capobianco, Bishop of Siracusa, today continues to live thanks to a small group of people of Siracusa.