About
Originally a medieval synagogue, this church contains a burial crypt, tunnel system, and Jewish ritual bath.
On the surface, the Chiesa di San Filippo Apostolo (Church of Saint Philip the Apostle) looks like most any other cathedral from the 1700s. The scale is grand, the paintings venerating Christ’s life are dramatic, and carvings of the Mother Mary portray blissful serenity. However, this is where the similarity ends: this Sicilian church was built on the remains of a medieval synagogue, and all that’s left of the synagogue now sits deep under the church, three levels below: a perfectly preserved mikvah. This Jewish ritual bath was used by women for purification ritual before marriage, after childbirth, and then after every menstrual period, until the Inquisition drove the Jews out of Sicily in 1492.
