Chiesa di Sant'Agostino (Church of Saint Augustine), Taormina

The Church of Sant'Agostino (Church of Saint Augustine) and the adjacent convent of the Ordine degli Eremitani constitute a single monumental aggregate with different intended uses, primitive places of worship.

Primitive church of San Sebastiano, a place of worship in the late Sicilian Gothic style built in 1486 by the inhabitants of Taormina in honor of San Sebastiano, a martyr invoked to free the city from the plague. Having heard their plea, the citizens built the temple.

As a further vote of thanksgiving, the church of San Sebastiano was granted to the Augustinians by the citizens on 12 September 1530, religious who changed its title by dedicating it to the founder of the Order and doctor of the church Sant'Agostino of Hippo . The donation took place under the supervision of the viceroy of Sicily Gaspare de Spes , completed and confirmed a posteriori by Ettore Pignatelli, count and duke of Monteleone, and by the archbishop Antonio La Lignanime, opening which took place on 18 September 1530.

The entire structure was expropriated and acquired by the municipal patrimony after the subversive laws enacted in 1866.

In 1933 the church became the seat of the library to house the book heritage of the former convents of Sant'Agostino, San Domenico and the Cappuccini.

In 1981 the entire building was restored and since 1985 it has been used as a library and multipurpose room. The classroom that was once the initial consultation room, called «Giovanni Di Giovanni» ( jurist , theologian and documenter from Taormina), is now used for art exhibitions and cultural events.

The small rose window and the upper ogive of the primitive portal with a pointed arch integrated in 1700 by a large architrave in Taormina marble, all delimited by cornerstones in stone , survived from the ancient facade.

On the left stands the small bell tower in the shape of a small tower with a belfry surmounted by a semi-acute arch and completed by battlements, it has a delicate and elegant decoration with lava inlays. On the right a portal constitutes an access gate to the convent part.

The interior is characterized by a wooden trussed ceiling, four wall niches decorated with fake arches and fake Corinthian style columns.

From 1504 the Polyptych by Antonello de Saliba , tempera on wood currently kept in the cathedral of San Nicola di Bari . Work composed of six tables inserted in a " retablo " or inlaid wooden frame attributable to the artist's brother Pietro or to his father Giovanni. The central panel depicts the Virgin Mary and Jesus between Saint Jerome and Saint Sebastian . Above, in the centre, the Deposition of Christ between Sant'Agata and Santa Lucia , in the predella the Last Supper reproduced in five small pictures.

According to the Order's census carried out in 1650, the aggregate belonged to the conventual Augustinians, the convent was unfinished and the friars lived on land rentals and census income.

With the enactment of the subversive laws of 1866, the confiscation by the state property was implemented with the first destination being a picture gallery . The complex used as a primary school from the beginning of the 20th century until the 1950s. In 2011 it was used as a civic library, the refectory as a reading room and the remaining structures as the seat of the municipal, provincial and regional historical archive.

The library has over 22,000 volumes of which 2,000 dedicated only to Sicily. The ancient collection is also very important, mainly composed of treatises on theology , philosophy and sciences from the convents of Sant'Agostino, San Domenico and the Cappuccini.