Description
The Church of the Holy Crucifix was founded in 1663 by Don Tommaso
Cocuzza di Castroreale, as evidenced by the will of December 18, 1663. Initially a lay chaplaincy, it later became a rectory, with the right to elect a chaplain. In 1860, it was deconsecrated and nearly abandoned, so much so that the Confraternity of the Crucifix, founded on June 2, 1705, with the aim of reviving it, decided in 1884 to be less selective in its selection of brothers, admitting members of all classes and social classes. The success of this goal, with the increased number of brothers, allowed the sacred building to be reopened for worship. On December 7, 1897, it passed to the Saccano-Spagnolio di Centineo family, descendants of Cocuzza, who donated it to the Curia of Messina in 1905; thus, from a private church, it became a public institution. Its layout features a single nave with a narrow, deep apse. The nave is symmetrically laid out, punctuated by pilasters and featuring two deep side altars, dedicated to Saint Rita and Our Lady of Pompeii. The left altar houses a wooden statue of Saint Rita, created in 1948 by the Barcellona sculptor Salvatore Crinò and his son Sebastiano; the right altar houses a sculptural group of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii. The apse houses a wooden crucifix from the 17th and 18th centuries, and a niche houses a statue dedicated to Saint Nicholas, who, according to tradition, was the patron saint of the city before Christ. San Sebastiano.
Finally, in the abyss area it is also possible to admire the tombstone of Francesca Moleti and De Gregorio, decorated with mixed marbles.
The main façade is surmounted by two octagonal bell towers, originally covered by two small domes of Arab origin; in 1954, the domes were removed and replaced with two conical roofs, altering its original appearance. The exterior restoration, completed in 2011, restored the church's dignity, highlighting the volumes of the bell towers in particular.
