Chiesa di Sant'Orsola - Termini Imerese

The Church of S. Orsola di Termini Imerese is located on a steep rocky slope, in the district formerly known as 'delli balati' from the Arabic balat (polished stone, plate). The church already existed in the second half of the 15th century . The foundation date has not been documented so far.

The sacred building, with the artistic decoration inside, undoubtedly represents one of the countless and valuable testimonies of the late Sicilian baroque in Termini Imerese.

The Church of Sant'Orsola contains one of the defensive towers (the Tower of the Saccari) in the walls that ran along the perimeter of the town in Republican times and in the Middle Ages, although the structure is still recognizable today.

In addition to the aforementioned defense tower, traditionally believed to date from the Hellenistic Roman period, although the visible structures date back to the late Middle Ages, the church structure has the peculiarity of being a building composed of two superimposed churches.

The lower church, built on the dolomite rock , is documented from the 15th century. It is more modest in size, has the shape of a hall and was accessible in ancient times from the Rocchecelle district.

The other church, the Upper Church, built at the beginning of the 16th century, enlarged in the 17th century and frescoed in the 18th century, has a rectangular plan covered by a barrel vault and interconnecting side chapels, three for each nave.

The upper church is connected to the lower one by a staircase that is accessed through a hatch. It is worth noting that near the base of the tower of the Saccari there was a passage leading to the catacomb by means of a staircase now collapsed, which also allowed access to the lower church from the second entrance, located at Largo Impallaria.schermata.

The sacred building contains precious works of art in its interior: stucco, gilding, frescoes, polychrome paintings, reliquaries, funerary inscriptions and bell jars. The frescoes in the choir and nave, together with the canvases that enrich the sacred building, are the most valuable representations.

The foundation of the Compagnia dei Neri (charitable nobles whose task it was to bury the poor and use black hoods to avoid being recognized) played a decisive role in determining the layout of the religious complex. In 1674 , the Compagnia used the lower church as a catacomb : the remains of various personalities of the past can still be found there.

Among them is the priest and physician Vincenzo Impallaria , who died in fame of sainthood on February 8, 1699. According to a Termite legend, after his death he would still walk around at night near St. Ursula to comfort the afflicted , wearing out the soles of his shoes. Devotees therefore brought a new pair of shoes to his grave every February 8 to replace the worn ones.

Willem Vandenameele