Chiesa di Sant’Agata alle Sciare

The Sant’Agata alle Sciare church testifies a great miracle of the Patron Saint, even if it is not considered a well-known site. In March 1669, a freighting Etna eruption originated from the Monti Rossi, nearby Nicolosi. The magma devastated and covered many towns and the countryside, reaching Catania and its city walls. It also swept away a shrine dedicated to Agatha, but a small painting, kept in the chapel, mysteriously floated on the lava flow and led it to the sea, saving the town. Today the painting, portraying Saint Agatha in prison, is on the wall above the altar, in order to remind the 1669 miracle.