Commissioned in 1584 at the request of Bishop Paolo Bellardito, the construction of Lipari's Capuchin friary was completed in 1599. Known today as the Church of Sant'Antonio di Padova (or Sant'Antonino), this religious complex stands in Piazza Mazzini in the Sottomonastero district, directly overlooking the bay of Marina Lunga. Following disputes and the departure of the Capuchins — who had attempted to maintain their vow of poverty by selling local raisins and capers — Bishop Alfonso Vidal granted the complex to the Observant Friars Minor of Calabria in May 1600 with the approval of Pope Clement VII. Extensively enlarged through the mid-18th century and reopened in 2017, the complex includes the parish church and the former friary, which now functions as Lipari's Town Hall and hosted notable historical guests such as scientist Lazzaro Spallanzani in 1788 and author Alexandre Dumas in 1835.
What to see
The exterior is highlighted by a three-tiered bell tower on the right side: the lower tier displays a pair of blind arches, the middle tier features two open arched windows, and the upper section holds a single arched window flanked by Renaissance scrollwork. The former friary sits on a rocky outcrop, crowned by battlemented parapets and featuring upper-floor windows framed in volcanic lava stone, alongside an internal cloister containing memorial plaques.
Inside, the single-nave interior features a barrel-vaulted ceiling, pendentive arches, and three western windows. The side chapels display polychrome marble altars dating from the first half of the 18th century. Along the right wall, the Chapel of Saint Paschal Baylon houses a 1741 painting by Messina artist Giovanni Tuccari showing the Adoration of St. Paschal with St. Ursula, while adjacent chapels feature statues of the Immaculate Conception and the Sacred Heart of Mary, alongside the stairs leading down to the crypt. On the left wall, the Chapel of Saint Teresa was embellished in 1734 by Bernardo Beamonte with marble, stucco, and paintings; it holds another 1741 canvas by Tuccari depicting Christ and Saint Teresa of Ávila bearing the motto "AUT PATI, AUT MORI". The presbytery features an elaborate wooden retable over the polychrome marble altar, framed by spiraled Corinthian columns, acroterial flame vases, and putti flanking an anonymous painting of the Virgin with Saints Francis and Dominic.
Visiting
Reopened on June 13, 2017, the church provides access to its 18th-century marble altars, a 17th-century wooden crucifix beneath the choir, and the staircase leading to the crypt. The adjacent former friary houses the offices of Lipari's town hall.
Our editors' tip
Look closely at the 1741 altarpiece by Giovanni Tuccari in the Chapel of Saint Teresa of Ávila, where you can read the motto "AUT PATI, AUT MORI" painted directly above the marble frame.