Chiesa della Madonna della Mazza - Palermo

The Church of the Madonna del Soccorso is known as the Church of the Madonna della Mazza because, according to iconographic tradition, the Virgin of the Salvation is depicted brandishing a small club.

Originally the church stood nearby and belonged to the Priory of San Nicolò del Bosco di Caccamo . In 1600, with the construction of the 'Strada Nuova', the current Via Maqueda, it became necessary to demolish the primitive church and in compensation the brotherhood was given a piece of land, a short distance away, which allowed them to build the current church, built between 1603 and 1606 according to a design by architect Miriano Smiriglio.

The facade has a rectangular shape and is framed by two pilasters. Above the portal is a statue of the Madonna della Mazza in an aedicula.

The interior has a basilical plan, with three small naves divided by two pilasters. The church houses numerous works of art: canvases depicting an Ecce Homo, Saint Jerome, Saint Joseph with Child, the Last Judgment, the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ on Mount Tabor by Gaspare Vazzano known as the Zoppo di Gangi; Immaculate Conception, Saint Anthony Abbot and Saint Charles Borromeo attributed to Giuseppe Salerno.

In the two side chapels, two contemporary works of art by the internationally renowned artist Adrian Ghenie have recently been installed, on the theme of the new martyrs of the Church: on the one hand the crucifixions of Christians, which still take place in the Middle East, and on the on the other hand, the martyrdom of Blessed Pino Puglisi, murdered by the mafia in 1993.

Willem Vandenameele