Chiesa dei SS. Euno e Giuliano
piazza Sant’Euno
Chiesa dei SS Euno e Giuliano was built from 1651 to 1658 by the Confraternita dei Seggettieri (confraternity of the sedan-chair porters), which chose the two saints as the patrons of the religious brotherhood. The ‘seggettieri’ (or vastasi di cinga) were the men who carried sedan chairs, which were used to transport clients on seats set on poles. The church is composed of a single nave with two lateral altars dedicated to Madonna del Rosario and the SS. Crocifisso. The main altar was separated from the nave by means of a large arch and decorated pillars. It probably featured the altarpiece in honour of the two patron saints created by Carlo d’Anselmo, which has now been lost. The decorations are attributed to the workshop of Procopio Serpotta.
The space of the crypt contains elaborate niches arranged on three levels for the display of the bodies of the brothers, and extends below today’s Piazza Magione. A trap door leads to an underground chamber set aside for the drying of the bodies. With the advent of modern means of transport the Church of SS. Euno e Giuliano gradually fell into a state of neglect. Bombing in 1943 destroyed much of the complex, leaving it in a state of abandon. Restoration work was funded in the late 1990s by Comune di Palermo. At the edge of a large comunal square this former church invites to reflect on the long history of interdependency between religious and civic domains in Palermo.
Chiesa dei SS Euno e Giuliano is part of the section City on Stage of The Planetary Garden. Cultivating Coexistence, and presents a show on the preparations and participation in the procession of Marinella Senatore on 16 June (Palermo Procession, 2018).
