Santa Maria Alemanna Church

Messina, Italy

Santa Maria Alemanna Church is a small church founded in 1220 by Frederick II. It was a property of Teutonic Knights until 1485. It has been restored after the damages caused by earthquakes in 1783 and 1908.

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Founded: 1220
Category: Religious sites in Italy

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Cecilia Saya (4 years ago)
suggestive
Antonio Riggio (4 years ago)
Beautiful gothic messinese church. Too bad it's not always open to visitors.
Pino Abete (5 years ago)
We found it closed and with no indication of opening times
Virginia (5 years ago)
Beautiful Gothic Church, and therefore without exaggerated embellishments that often move away rather than approach. (The Church must not be rich. Luxury does not suit her. W Pope Francis). Lucky church because it was saved by the earthquake that destroyed Messina in 1908. And it is for this reason that it is found lower down than the rest of the city, rebuilt. Absolutely to visit and admire.
Roberto Sciarrone (6 years ago)
The church of Santa Maria Alemanna is a church in Messina, located in via Sant'Elia. It represents the highest expression of Gothic art in the Mediterranean area, and is in pure Gothic style, has preserved intact the skeleton given to it and can be admired according to the original style. The primitive structures are the prerogative of the Cistercian Order as a filiation of Casamari, Clairvaux line. The Priory of Santa Maria Alemanna is annexed to the Real Badia della Magione and granted by Emperor Henry VI of Swabia to the Teutonic order around 1195. A nearby hospital was built in 1220 by German workers for the sake of Frederick II of Swabia for to assure the Teutonic Knights, engaged in the crusades, a place of rest and supply. The Knights established their Priory here and used the hospital to welcome the veterans from the Holy Land and to take care of them. It was the Teutonic Knights who named it in Santa Maria Alemanna, a name with which it is still known today. Only a small trace remains of the ancient hospital in the form of an ogival arch and a fragment wall near the church's apses. It remained unscathed in the earthquake of 1908, as evidence of this, the church is at a lower level than the road, but for demands imposed by the new Town Plan (1911), the west elevation was demolished and the building was shortened to length. Between 1949 and 1951 it underwent restoration work and in 1985 the relocation of the lateral portal, after the restoration work of 1994 was provided for the wooden roofing of the structure and the aforementioned west elevation, was rebuilt in glass. In 2001 it was reopened for public use and now exhibitions, events and shows are organized inside it. In November 2013, the church was included in the itinerary 'On the Footsteps of Frederick', a cultural journey organized by the Federico II Foundation of Palermo. On that occasion, on November 20, 2013 in the church premises, the meeting was held on 'Frederick II and Byzantium'. To be seen absolutely.
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