Description
The Church of Gesù e Maria del Buonviaggio is a small Baroque church looking out over the Strait, on Viale della Libertà, the waterfront north of the port of Messina. It is also called "del Ringo", after the old fishing village it stands in.
The highlight is the façade: on either side of the doorway, two niches hold the statues of Jesus and Mary, which once held oil lamps. When lit, they guided the fishermen's boats out at sea and were a sign of blessing. Inside is a canvas by Giovanni Simone Comandè, a Messina painter of the early 17th century.
It was commissioned by the Messina nobleman Lorenzo Abbate, who had it built between 1598 and 1604, and it is one of the few churches in the city still standing after the great earthquakes. On the last Sunday of August, the Madonna del Buon Viaggio is carried in procession and the fishermen of the Ringo and the nearby villages compete in the boat race, the palio marinaro.
The highlight is the façade: on either side of the doorway, two niches hold the statues of Jesus and Mary, which once held oil lamps. When lit, they guided the fishermen's boats out at sea and were a sign of blessing. Inside is a canvas by Giovanni Simone Comandè, a Messina painter of the early 17th century.
It was commissioned by the Messina nobleman Lorenzo Abbate, who had it built between 1598 and 1604, and it is one of the few churches in the city still standing after the great earthquakes. On the last Sunday of August, the Madonna del Buon Viaggio is carried in procession and the fishermen of the Ringo and the nearby villages compete in the boat race, the palio marinaro.