Piazza Armerina in 1632

PIAZZA ARMERINA IN 1632

The Golden tile with a city map-1632
In the same year in which you made the painting of Saint Andrew Avellino, 2° joint Patron Saint of the city, where is the second view of Platia, the Goldsmith priest don Camillo Baasan requested construction of three panels in gold, silver and enamels, to ask how the breastplate on the image of our Lady of victories.

The banner of Madonna already is in custody in silver done in 1627 by the craftsman Giuseppe Capra in his workshop of Caltagirone.
The three valuable works that realizes the Goldsmith, are the result of people's gratitude panicker and neighbouring municipalities, for graces received through the decades.

In the middle of the last century, in 1545 and in 1558, the drought has created serious famines in the Valley of Braemi.
In and that of Gela in 1545 Pulice is the President of United in the dress of penance, the Marquis Ambrose Santapau, accompanied by many noble blades rmitani. On one of the many citizens of the municipalities of penitents are 1558 Aidone, Mazzarino, Pietraperzia and Barrafranca, Butera, to pray to our Lady of the Banner and get the grace of abundant rain.

Forty years later, in 1591, famine, plague and drought hit the area again, so much so that the Baron Marco Trigona has borrowed 15,000 scudi to the town of Caltagirone to face famine. In the spring of 1595 to the great drought, the grain harvest is going to be lost, but the clergy called the faithful to a general penance.
These include the jurors love, Ligambi, Service and Zebedee who do vote to produce a silver case for the banner (that of 1627), as well as the protection plate (the one with the view of 1632). A grace received provide the sum total of 3932 onze. In the plant in gold, not larger than cm. 16 x 12 ca., you can tell which is stated precisely the view already reproduced in the first two, except that here is embossed. At the bottom are distinguished fine the city walls on the sides of the door of St. John the Baptist, whose right side is the commandery, and to the left, just outside the walls, the Church of Santo Stefano.

Continuing to the left, outside-the-walls, there is a convent with the Torre del Carmine, then in green gardens, in the Centre Court building Capitanale, top left the Aragonese castle, on the right the mother church in transformation ¹, without even the cupola.
Always right clockwise, the complex of the Franciscan monastery at Monte, descending, you notice a church, probably that of Saint Catherine, then demolished, in the curve of via Cavour, and in other green vegetable gardens outside the walls.

Finally a sore point: all the bib number is stolen in 1997 from a convicted felon with the complicity of the Sexton that acts as a spotter, but in 2003, part of the swag with some pieces of the breastplate, gathered and delivered by a British citizen.

according to prof. Ignazio Nigrelli this view, despite having been delivered in 1632, would be older than the one in the painting of Saint Andrew Avellino "... as it shows the back of the old church with three aspes and mother, then called Saint Mary major, While it is certainly the view of rear panel, where you notice that the back wall of the new mother church, began building in 1627, already covers the three apses of old... " (I. NIGRELLI, Project And Permanent, Reg. Des. Scol. 27, Tip. Bologna, p., 1997, p. 12).