Palermo - Santa Maria della Catena

Some 500m/550yds further on the left from the Garibaldi Gardens in Palermo will be seen the church of Santa Maria della Catena, whose name refers to the fact that at one time the harbor (La Cala) could be closed off with a chain (catena). The actual chain is displayed in the church. Begun about 1500 and completed in 1540, the building is a fine example of an amalgam of Late Gotho-Catalan features with those of the Italian Renaissance. The doorway sculptures are by Vincenzo Gagini (16th century). A portico with three flat-arched arcades leads into the triple-aisled basilica, which was converted to the Baroque style in the 18th century.