Sant'Isidoro, Erice

Church of Sant’Isidoro Agricola
Chiesa di Sant’Isidoro Agricola
The church façade
Church of Sant’Isidoro Agricola
38°02′13″N 12°35′02″E / 38.036873°N 12.58382°E / 38.036873; 12.58382
LocationErice, Sicily, Italy
CountryItaly
DenominationRoman Catholic
History
StatusActive
Founded1666
DedicationSaint Isidore the Farmer
Architecture
Architectural typeChurch
StyleVernacular, 17th-century

The Church of Sant’Isidoro (Italian: Chiesa di Sant’Isidoro or Chiesa di Sant'Isidoro Agricola) is a small Roman Catholic chapel in Erice, Sicily. Built in 1666 on the site traditionally identified as the birthplace of the Blessed Carmelite Luigi Rabatà, it was erected by a confraternity of local farmers and artisans dedicated to Saint Isidore the Farmer.[1][2]

History

The chapel was constructed in 1666 by the local brotherhood of Sant’Isidoro, composed of farmers and craftsmen, on the site believed to be the birthplace of Blessed Luigi Rabatà.[1] It originally consisted of a single small nave with one altar, and the walls were decorated with frescoes of Sant’Alberto dei Bianchi and Blessed Rabatà.[1]

Closed to worship in the 1930s, the church fell into neglect and was largely forgotten.[2] It was restored in 2010 and reopened as the “Chiesa di Sant’Isidoro e del Beato Luigi” under the initiative of Archpriest Pietro Messana.[3][2]

Location

The church is located next to the Chiesa Matrice (Mother Church), just inside the Porta Trapani entrance in the Elymian-Punic Walls of Erice.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Tusa, Salvatore (1984). Le chiese di Erice (in Italian). Trapani: Stab. Tipografico Licia.
  2. ^ a b c d "Sant'Isidoro". Erice la Montagna del Signore. 23 July 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  3. ^ "Riapertura della Chiesa di Sant'Isidoro e del Beato Luigi – Erice". Diocesi di Trapani. 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2025.