Chiesa Santa Maria dei Naufraghi - Palermo

Built in the 15th century. Initially dedicated to Saint Christopher, it was given the title ' Church of the Shipwrecks' in 1743 because it was intended for the burial of shipwrecked sailors.

It was not unusual to find the body of an unfortunate person on the shore who had drowned after falling from a boat. From here, the Palermo Senate decided in 1743 that these poor people also deserved divine intercession , so it was decided to name this (already existing) church Santa Maria dei Naufragati and use it for their burial, as was already happening in other coastal towns. cities of the Mediterranean.

In 1628, ownership of the church passed into the hands of the reformed Augustinian fathers of the Congregation of Centorbi, who were looking for a new location to receive them. First they renamed the church after Our Lady of Providence , then they started building a small monastery next to the structure.

When the Augustinians moved to the monastery of Sant'Agata la Pedata 35 years later, the complex remained largely abandoned until the city council finally decided what to do with it.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Palermo was preparing for a golden age, full of nobility, lavish parties and beautiful palaces. The other side of the coin was an unprecedented army of poor people, who inevitably found themselves begging outside the homes of the richest, hoping to receive some money or some leftovers from the kitchens (preferably in an effort not to are affected by the abuse of the richest). liveried servants).

To rid the city of these hordes of beggars, the Senate decided to establish a hospice to guarantee these poor people a warm meal and shelter. In reality, the idea was to clean up the streets and hide the problem from the eyes of those who didn't want to see it.
In February 1733, in the suitably re-adapted premises of the former monastery, this new Albergo dei Poveri was inaugurated with great fanfare, which was called Serraglio , from the late Latin serraculum denoting a place closed by bars and chains, but which in Italian it also means a gathering place for wild animals , brought together for the purpose of amusing and entertaining the public. This last definition, while perhaps not the origin of the building's name, gives a good metaphorical idea of its real purpose.

In the following days, a roundup operation began in the streets of the city to round up all the needy and house them in the new building, where they found a roof and a hot meal, but where they were also held captive. Since this was not normally allowed, they were allowed to go out and make the city "ugly" with their presence.
Within a short time, disabled people, with mental disorders or physical limitations, were also included in the categories to be "welcomed" at the institute.

Not far from the Serraglio, a small cemetery for the poor was also created, commonly called Sant'Antoninello Lo Sicco, after the name of an adjacent church, which was completely dismantled a few centuries later during the construction work of the first church. Palermo Train Station (formerly the current Central Station).

The hospice remained in operation until 1772, when the building, now too small and dilapidated for its purpose, was replaced by the new Albergo dei Poveri built by order of King Charles III on the main road of Mezzomonreale (the current Calatafimi course).

After all the poor were transferred to the new building with a solemn ceremony, the previous hospice, renamed Serraglio Vecchio , remained almost always empty and sometimes used for the most diverse purposes, until it was finally demolished towards the end of the 19th century.

Our Lady of the Church of the Castaways

As we have already said, in view of the unfortunate frequency with which the bodies of poor people who had been shipwrecked along the coast of Palermo were found in 1743, the Senate of the city decided to arrange the burial of these corpses in a crypt under the church, appropriately renamed Maria SS. . dei Naufragati , although the people, who are often right, have always informally nicknamed it Santa Maria degli Drowned , a little less poetic, but also more appropriate.

At the same time, a congregation was founded which had the sad (and grotesque) task of going in procession to the place where the bodies were found , collecting them and then transporting them to the church, where they were given a proper burial.

When the adjacent and now dilapidated Serraglio Vecchio building was demolished in the late 19th century, the church was renovated, with the addition of the bell tower that still stands next to the main entrance.

Willem Vandenameele