Saint Agatha of Catania
on the Piazza del Duomo
Baroque facade
the Cathedral
honoring Saint Agatha
Agatha, Saint, according to
tradition, a noble Sicilian virgin of great beauty and wealth, who rejected the
love of a Roman consul and as a result suffered cruel martyrdom. The antiquity
of her cult is evidenced by her inclusion in early martyrologies and in the
canon of the Roman Catholic Mass. In art, she is frequently depicted with her
severed breasts on a plate. Whether Agatha ever lived and, if so, whether she
died in the persecution of Christians conducted during the reign of the Roman
emperor Decius (249-251) or that of Diocletian, 50 years later, is unknown. She
is the patron saint of Malta and of Catania, Italy. Legend relates that several
times the mere carrying of her veil (taken from her tomb in Catania) in
procession averted eruptions of nearby Mount Etna, and that her intercession
saved Malta from Turkish conquest in 1551. Saint Agatha's feast day is February
5.
Text from Microsoft Encarta
chapel
ceiling ornamentation
altar
Agatha chapel
shrine carried in procession on Saint Agatha Day
its base
the sgrine
ceiling painting of Saint Agatha
a scene from the life of the saint
