CHURCH AND MONASTERY OF SANTO SPIRITO
The monastery of Santo Spirito, with its imposing body, overlooks the eastern part of the city. It is undoubtedly the most popular of all the medieval monuments left in Agrigento. It was founded in 1299 by the noble marquise Rosalia Prefoglio, wife of Frederick I of Chiaramonte, who, in the last years of her life, decided to donate the building to the Benedictine nuns of the Cistercian Order. The monastery is also called Badia Grande (in the local dialect, “Bataranni”) and is characterised by a beautiful cloister. The building is organised on two floors; the ground floor includes the chapel, the Chapterhouse and the big Refectory; the first floor can be reached through the big portal opening almost in the middle of the façade. An internal staircase leads directly to the Dormitory with a wooden ceiling supported by 17th Century’s lancets and by a series of niches to be used as storage. Today, the monastery is the venue of the Civic Museums and in its rooms we can admire a handmade Nativity Set that reproduces the old town.
C.le Santo Spirito, 9, Agrigento AG
Phone: 328 737 0299; 0922 20664; [email protected]
