Chiesa delle Anime del Purgatorio

About

Anime Sante del Purgatorio (English: Church of the Holy Souls in Purgatory) is a Baroque church in the historic centre of Trapani, Sicily. It is best known as the custodial home of the Misteri di Trapani, a cycle of sculptural groups used in the city’s annual Good Friday procession. The building incorporates earlier structural phases but largely reflects architectural developments of the 17th and 18th centuries.

History: The church was established in 1688 at the initiative of the nobleman Domenico Viola, who commissioned a new building to replace earlier structures on the site. The initial design is attributed to the architect Pietro Castro, who defined the Latin-cross plan and internal spatial layout. Construction progressed with the support of local confraternities, including those responsible for organising the Misteri procession. Substantial alterations took place in the early 18th century. Between 1712 and 1714 the architect Giovanni Biagio Amico, a leading figure of the Sicilian Baroque, redesigned the main façade and directed further works that gave the church much of its present form. Amico maintained a long association with the building and was later buried inside it....