Palermo - Oratorio di San Lorenzo

Near the church of San Francesco d'Assisi, stands the Oratorio di San Lorenzo, built by the Compagnia del Rosario di San Lorenzo c. 1550 and decorated with stucco-work by Giacoma Serpotta from 1690 onwards. The latter work includes figures of Caritas and Hospitalitas at the entrance to the chancel, and scenes from the lives of SS Lawrence and Francis. The altar-piece, painted in 1609 by Michelangelo da Caravaggio, portrayed the Birth of Jesus; it was stolen in 1969 and has never been traced.