Description
The Church of Santa Maria Alemanna is the church of the Teutonic Knights in Messina, on Via Sant'Elia: a rare example of pure Gothic in Sicily, built in the 13th century by German craftsmen. Today it is deconsecrated and hosts exhibitions and events.
Inside, the effect is that of a Northern European cathedral in miniature. Three naves are separated by clustered piers with half columns, from which slender pointed arches spring, and end in three semicircular apses.
Above, the cross vaults are reinforced with ribs. The stone itself is unusual: alongside marble and gray-green veined limestone, gypsum was used, which reflects the light and gives the interior alabaster-like glints.
Of the decoration, the capitals remain, carved with leaves and flowers among which monsters and human figures peek out. On the main portal, the pointed arch shows monsters and figures with a pagan feel, so much so that some scholars have suggested a very ancient origin for the church.
The church was born of the Crusades. Around 1195 Emperor Henry VI granted the site to the Teutonic Order, and in 1220 Hermann von Salza, adviser to Frederick II, had a hospital built here: knights bound for the Holy Land found rest, supplies and care here.
It was they who called it Santa Maria "Alemanna", meaning "of the Germans". Of the hospital only a small pointed arch with a fragment of wall near the apses remains.
Around 1485 the knights left Messina, and the hospital passed to the Arciconfraternita dei Rossi. In 1571 a Spanish veteran of the Battle of Lepanto found shelter here: Miguel de Cervantes, who years later would write Don Quixote.
Then came difficult centuries. By 1606 the church and hospital were already abandoned; in 1612 lightning damaged the roof, the 1783 earthquake ruined the facade, and the building ended up as a blacksmith's shop, a warehouse and a storeroom.
The 1908 earthquake, on the other hand, spared it. It was the new town plan of 1911 that mutilated it: to meet its requirements the west facade was demolished and the church was shortened.
With 20th-century restorations the missing facade was rebuilt in glass, and the roof was returned to wood. The church reopened to the public in 2001.
Don't miss
• The Gothic naves with their cross vaults.
• The carved capitals.
• The portal with its monster figures.
Did you know?
• The church lies below street level: it is at the level of the city before the 1908 earthquake.
Inside, the effect is that of a Northern European cathedral in miniature. Three naves are separated by clustered piers with half columns, from which slender pointed arches spring, and end in three semicircular apses.
Above, the cross vaults are reinforced with ribs. The stone itself is unusual: alongside marble and gray-green veined limestone, gypsum was used, which reflects the light and gives the interior alabaster-like glints.
Of the decoration, the capitals remain, carved with leaves and flowers among which monsters and human figures peek out. On the main portal, the pointed arch shows monsters and figures with a pagan feel, so much so that some scholars have suggested a very ancient origin for the church.
The church was born of the Crusades. Around 1195 Emperor Henry VI granted the site to the Teutonic Order, and in 1220 Hermann von Salza, adviser to Frederick II, had a hospital built here: knights bound for the Holy Land found rest, supplies and care here.
It was they who called it Santa Maria "Alemanna", meaning "of the Germans". Of the hospital only a small pointed arch with a fragment of wall near the apses remains.
Around 1485 the knights left Messina, and the hospital passed to the Arciconfraternita dei Rossi. In 1571 a Spanish veteran of the Battle of Lepanto found shelter here: Miguel de Cervantes, who years later would write Don Quixote.
Then came difficult centuries. By 1606 the church and hospital were already abandoned; in 1612 lightning damaged the roof, the 1783 earthquake ruined the facade, and the building ended up as a blacksmith's shop, a warehouse and a storeroom.
The 1908 earthquake, on the other hand, spared it. It was the new town plan of 1911 that mutilated it: to meet its requirements the west facade was demolished and the church was shortened.
With 20th-century restorations the missing facade was rebuilt in glass, and the roof was returned to wood. The church reopened to the public in 2001.
Don't miss
• The Gothic naves with their cross vaults.
• The carved capitals.
• The portal with its monster figures.
Did you know?
• The church lies below street level: it is at the level of the city before the 1908 earthquake.