Chiesa di Sant'Antonio di Padova - Palermo

The Church of Saint Anthony of Padua was built from 1630 together with the adjacent monastery on behalf of the monastic order of the Reformed Observants of Saint Francis.

The outer facade of the church is decorated with an entablature and Doric pilasters in the cantons and is topped by a pediment with an oculus. A gate protects a late Mannerist portal with a tympanum topped by an intermediate window.

The interior consists of a single nave with barrel vaults plastered entirely in white and gold ; there are interconnected chapels and in some of them the original decoration can still be recognized; the floor was re-laid in the 1960s, following the original marble floor created by Pietro Bargillai in 1639. Above the entrance door is the large choir where the organ is located. The side walls of the nave are all decorated with white and gold-colored stuccowork, on the opposite side is the late neoclassical altar of gilded wood and polychrome marble.

Inside the church you can still admire the frescoes attributed to Pietro Novelli depicting the life of Anthony of Padua. These frescoes were taken over by the Palermo painter Antonio Velasco after they were damaged by humidity.

In the apse there are two large frescoes by Guglielmo Borremans depicting the Communion of Saint Clare from the hands of Saint Peter of Alcantara and the Eucharistic Miracle of Saint Anthony.

The church contains unique frescoes, making it a jewel of sacred art in the historic center of Palermo.

Willem Vandenameele