Church of the SS. Pachino crucifix

The Parish of the SS. Pachino crucifix

Solid and collected, the Parish of SS. Crucifix of Pachino is the Mother Church of the city, also named after the Patron Saint of Pachino, the Madonna Assunta.

Located in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele and near Via Garibaldi, the Church is located in the heart of the populous town in the Free Municipal Consortium of Syracuse.

The building sacred to the Catholic cult, for a long time unique in the town, was built in 1790 by the architect Garrano, at the behest of the Marquis Vincenzo Starraba, founder of the country.
Due to its size and the importance it covers, the Parish of SS. Crocifisso di Pachino is the most interesting building in the whole municipality, as well as one of the oldest.

The architecture of the parish of the ss. Pachino crucifix and the works it contains

The building, compact and made up of two main orders, is dominated by a third order in which the two bell towers of the Parish dominate laterally.

The Church is in Baroque style, with Corinthian columns and capitals, as well as various decorations that emerge from the brick wall of the main facade. The bronze door it was built in 1968 and inserted at the entrance to the Church, framed by columns and surmounted by the tympanum.

The body of the Parish of SS. Crocifisso di Pachino has a single nave decorated in Baroque style, with light tones, which make the interior of the Church particularly bright. Upon entering, you can admire the apse area, near which is the only chapel of the Church. In the chapel are kept the remains of Vincenzo and Gaetano Starraba, founders of Pachino. Ancient canvases are visible along the single nave of the Parish, to be admired in the complex of the sacred furnishings of the Church.

The Parish of Pachino is also dedicated to the Patron Saint, the Our Lady of the Assumption, of which the simulacrum is kept in the Church, which is unveiled for the Procession on the occasion of the Patronal Feast.

What is possible to do in the parish and in the surroundings

Those arriving to visit Pachino can start their tour to discover the Sicilian town right from the Mother Church of Pachino, in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele. Here you can participate in Mass and admire the artistic beauties that are kept in the Church, paying homage to the founders of the city with a visit.

Pachino is really a center very ancient: in the surroundings you can visit archaeological sites of great importance for the whole country, here in fact, 8.000 years before Christ, men began to live in caves, which can still be visited today.

The area was conquered by the Greeks, Romans and Arabs, up to the medieval period, of which most of the traces are visible. Witnesses of this story are the Xibini Tower , Fano Tower, Marzamemi tuna trap and the salt marshes, attractions scattered both inland and along the coast.

In more recent times, we begin to refer to this area with the name of Pachino, a center founded by the Starraba brothers. Therefore, many of the buildings still visible in the city date from the eighteenth century.

Moving from Pachino, you can reach villages and cities, as well as some of the most beautiful naturalistic landscapes of Sicily.

Just 6 km from Pachino there is the Tafuri Castle, a hotel established in the rooms of a XNUMXs castle, while a little further north, less than a quarter of an hour's drive from Pachino, there is Marzamemi, which is part of the municipality of Pachino. Here you can relax on the beach or enjoy the splendid Sicilian sea, but there are also significant attractions to visit for tourists who are passionate about art and history. Among the most important tuna traps on the island, Marzamemi is a center populated above all by sailors, from which you can also admire the suggestive Brancati islet and where you can visit the Mother Church.

Very close to Pachino, it is also Portopalo, a small coastal town populated by about 3.000 people, which is characterized by being bathed by both Mediterranean Sea than from the Ionian. In addition to the beauty of the sea, here you can also admire various monuments and interesting sites such as the imposing XNUMXth century Forte di Capo Passero and the fascinating Island of the Currents, connected to Sicily by a corridor of sand, which however is often erased by the tides.

In the southernmost area of ​​Sicily, you can then taste the typical products of Pachino such as the famous ones Cherry tomatoes used in various preparations, but also other local dishes such as fish couscous, orange salad or Sicilian spaghetti.

How is it possible to get to the parish of SS. Pachino crucifix

Pachino, in the Free Municipal Consortium of Syracuse in Sicily, is the perfect destination for your holidays in Sicily. Easy to reach by car or train, it is just 50 km from Syracuse.

By car, it can be reached on the A18 Catania-Siracusa-Gela motorway, taking the Noto exit and continuing to the center (about 16 km away); those arriving by train can get off at the closest railway station, Ragusa, about 39 km from Pachino, from which you can continue by shuttle or bus.

© Fabio Romano, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Liquid nitrogen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons