Church of Sant' Agostino

The Church of St. Augustine is located in one of the loveliest corners of Taormina. We are talking of the famous Piazza IX Aprile reached along the equally famous Corso Umberto that runs through the city of Taormina. From here you can admire the Gulf of Taormina and the imposing profile of Etna which dominates the eastern area of Sicily. Built in 1448, the Church of St. Augustine was founded after the city was liberated from the plague, as a sign of devotion to Saint Sebastian. With the arrival of the Augustinian friars of Taormina, the church was enlarged and took on the appearance of a convent no longer facing San Sebastiano but in St. Augustine. Entering inside the church will immediately notice the ceiling characterized by the presence of wooden beams with the side arches and Corinthian columns fake. The original Gothic-Sicilian style late through a transformation phase around 1700, when the great pointed arch of the main entrance was replaced with a stone lintel of Taormina. Today, the original facade, it remains only a small rosette and the top of the arched portal. The church of St. Augustine is now used as a library.

Church of Sant' Agostino

8 Comments CherryPie on Feb 1st 2020

8 Responses to “Church of Sant’ Agostino”

  1. Sean Jeating says:

    Now, that’s a library.
    Your recent posts let me wish again to visit Sicily before moving to my last dwelling six feet under.

  2. Hels says:

    I have just been writing about the Black Plague, and not for the first time. No wonder the survivors in Taormina wanted to give heartfelt thanks. Building the Church of St. Augustine after the city was liberated from the plague was perfect.

  3. Ayush says:

    the piazza is charming, CherryPie. i see a fair number of other tourists too.

    • CherryPie says:

      I bided my time… There were a LOT more tourists than you see in this photo. Most of them just there for an hour as they were disgorged off a cruise ship sitting in the bay, following a tour leader in crocodile style through the town to see the best sights without enjoying the essence of the town.

  4. Another church library?
    Funny that you mentioned this, I went to see the John Rylands Library in Manchester just a few weeks ago. It was a library that looked like a church. Ha!

    Have you been to Manchester Central Library? It’s also worth a visit.
    Have you also been to the new Liverpool Central Library?
    It’s even better and bigger than Manchester’s.

    • CherryPie says:

      I have seen John Rylands library but did not have time to go in. I have not been to the other two libraries that you mention either. I have however visited the wedding cake in Birmingham ;-)