The Church of Gesù e Maria is a sacred building in the centre of Reggio Calabria, between via del Torrione and via Crisafi.
What to see
Rebuilt after the earthquake of 1908 on the same site where it had previously stood, to a design by the engineer Gino Zani, the church has a plain classical-style façade preceded by a small hanging loggia and side staircases; the interior, very bright, is divided into three naves. In the right-hand nave stand the funerary monument dedicated to the canon Giuseppe Morisani, a distinguished 18th-century Reggio historian, man of letters and archaeologist, and a 19th-century crucifix.
Among the more recent works are a bronze-panel Way of the Cross, two angels supporting the throne, the lecterns and the main-altar panel, all created by the sculptor Ennio Tesei. In the crypt are kept the so-called «varette», papier-mâché figures of the Neapolitan school carried in procession through the city's streets every Good Friday.
Visiting
The church is open for worship according to service times, worth checking before visiting.
Our editors' tip
If you can, ask to go down into the crypt to see the «varette»: statues that leave anonymity only once a year, on Good Friday, and for the rest of the time remain a secret kept underground beneath the church.
