Chiesa di San Gaetano alle Grotte

Useful Information

Location:	Piazza Carlo Alberto, 74, 95131 Catania CT. (37.5087305, 15.0882694)
Open:	Open on special days like the notte bianca dei musei. [2024]
Fee:	Adults EUR 1. [2024]
Classification:	Cave Church
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Chiesa di San Gaetano alle Grotte, Piazza Carlo Alberto, 74, 95131 Catania CT, Tel: +39-0.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

262	cistern converted int Christian church, probably the first in Catania.
8th century	upper church demolished or abandoned.
11th century	upper church restored, cave church becoms crypt.
1558	building cleaned up by the Carmelite friars.
2004	declared a Historical Monument.

Description

Chiesa di San Gaetano alle Grotte is a small church with an underground chapel, hence the "alle Grotte" part of the name. The cave is actually a lava tube, which was first used during Roman times as a cistern. Later it was used as a catacomb, for burials, and in 262 it was transformed into a Christian cave church. It was one of the first Christian churches in Catania. In 313, the Christian religion was allowed by edict and the cave church was extended during the Byzantine period. In the 8th century, after the Muslim conquest of Sicily, the upper church was demolished or abandoned. It was substantially remodeled in the 11th century, with the arrival of the Normans. The cult changed from eastern to western and the architecture was adapted. An unknown event, probably a flood, was responsible that the cave was forgotten until the 16th century. Finally, the earthquake of 1693 destroyed a part of the cave church, and it remained closed until 1801. Today it is renovated and again used for services.

The cave church housed the remains of Saint Agatha from her death in 251 to her burial in the Vetere in 264. Saint Euplio, co-patron saint of Catania, was also temporarily bueried here after his death in 304. The church was originally called Santa Maria alla Grotta. It was transferred to the Saint Gaetano friars in the 19th century and was named after them. Today the lower church is twinned with the Russian Orthodox monastery of Divnogorje. The Catania Orthodox community offers Sunday Masses in the cave church.

This is a regular church, but the crypt is open only on special occasions. There are guided tours which are offered regularly, called Catania Sotterranea (Underground Catania), which include a visit to the cave church. They take up to three hours and cost € 75, and include visits to numerous underground sites which are normally not accessible. The guide is typically an archaeologist or historian. Also, it's possible to visit the church before and after the Sunday Masses. There are also Le Vie dei Tesori, a sort of open monument days, when simultaneously Historic Monuments, which are usually closed, can be visited with a single ticket.