Tradition dates the earliest origins of the Abbey of San Martino delle Scale to Pope Gregory the Great in either 573 or 581. Positioned between Mount Cuccio and Mount Caputo in a hamlet of Monreale, this major Benedictine complex was destroyed by Saracens around 820 and refounded in 1347 under Archbishop Emanuele Spinola and the first abbot, Angelo Sinisio. Over the centuries it grew into a prominent monastic center, attracting a visit from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1787.
What to see
The present basilica stems from a reconstruction executed between 1564 and 1595, consecrated in 1602 by Archbishop Diego Haëdo. Outside, the monumental facade designed in 1775 by Giuseppe Venanzio Marvuglia stretches 137 meters across three orders facing Palermo. Architect Giovanni Biagio Amico designed the 18th-century library, the fountain in the Marble Courtyard, and the architectural ornamentations of the altars and choir. Sculptor Ignazio Marabitti carved the Oreto fountain and the depiction of Saint Martin on horseback.
The latin-cross interior was decorated with plasterwork in 1602 and features ten minor side chapels containing a notable collection of paintings. Works on display include paintings by Gaspare Vazzano (Zoppo di Gangi), the Preaching of Saint John the Baptist attributed to Filippo Paladini (1608), Paolo De Matteis's Saint Rosalia (1727), Guglielmo Borremans's Saint Placid and Saint Scholastica, and Jusepe de Ribera's panel representing Saint Dominic of Silos. Statues of Saints Benedict, Gregory the Great, Placid, and Maurus stand at the crossing. The presbytery holds a 1594 organ built by Raffaele la Valle and a 68-seat wooden choir crafted around 1597 by the Ferraro and Vitagliante workshop, later enriched with relief panels depicting the ecstasies of Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica.
Visiting
Following its suppression in 1866, the monastic community reestablished itself during the 20th century. Since 1946, the abbey has operated an active book restoration laboratory, a historic library, and a shop offering traditional monastic items. The monastery serves as the setting for the television show Le ricette del convento, filmed on site since May 2022.
Our editors' tip
Near the entrance, look for the left holy water font: it holds a 1602 marble inscription recording the consecration of the church, standing as an important document of the Sicilian Renaissance period.