Church of Sant'Agata

An ancient church, remade several times

The Church of Sant’Agata stands at the end of Via San Benedetto and is very old: it is mentioned in a deed by the notary Guglielmo Salomone of 8 August 1481. It was renovated in the 16th century, keeping the two original portals. Damaged by the bombings of the Second World War, in the 1950s it was demolished and immediately rebuilt. The present front features a main portal surmounted by a wide rose window and a second, small side portal.

The interior and the works

The interior has three naves divided by round arches; the central nave is covered by a trussed wooden roof. On the central altar is placed the valuable 16th-century marble statue of Sant’Agata, a work of the Gagini school (perhaps by Mancino). It also holds a canvas by the Nicosian Antonio Filingelli of the Madonna of the Rosary, signed and dated Antonius Filingeri fratrer indigenus pingebat 1647 and framed by ovals with the mysteries of the life of Jesus.

Source

The historical and artistic information in this entry is drawn and summarised from the Church of Sant’Agata entry of the Ecomuseo Petra d’Asgotto in Nicosia (ecomuseonicosia.it), which is credited for documenting Nicosia’s sacred heritage.