Chiesa di Santo Stefano Protomartire alla Zisa - Palermo

The Church of Santo Stefano Protomartire was founded in 1582 by Nicolò Spadafora, together with the Monastery of the Franciscan Third Order, which unfortunately no longer exists .

It is located in a place of great historical and artistic interest, next to the famous medieval Zisa Castle , on the square of the same name. The current building was built in 1662 in the Baroque style, as evidenced by its theatrical facade decorated with spirals , streamers and cones. The overall design is accentuated by ocher pilasters that stand out against the white plastered walls. A Baroque aedicula above the beautiful entrance houses a small white marble statue of Saint Mary , which contains two niches on the sides with statues of Franciscan saints . The rustic design of the semi-circular dome matches the massive appearance of the exterior.

The interior has a single nave with fairly deep chapels . In the second chapel on the right is the double sarcophagus of Carlotta Thaon and Giuseppina Albamonte . The third chapel contains the small funerary monument of Don Giovanni Battista de Syla en Alargon . In the fourth, on the left, is the late Mannerist funerary monument of Vincenzo Spatafora .

The interiors, much tampered with, were once covered with beautiful Baroque frescoes, the remains of which have been preserved. The chapels house numerous funerary monuments of members of the Sandovals (the noble family that owned Zisa) which are well preserved, as well as the valuable marble altar of the Trinity. Recent renovation work on the walls has revealed some frescoes, covered with white paint during the last war.
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Willem Vandenameele