Save St. Anthony's Church

The Church of St. Anthony is valuable because it is a rare example of a sacred building with Art Nouveau wall paintings inside. Alberto Stabile writes: 'The black and white tiled floor, the floral decorations, the crowns of lilies framing the figures, even the wings of angels about to take flight bear the unmistakable imprint of Art Nouveau.
Unfortunately, however, perhaps also due to the inadequate periodic cleaning of the gutters, rainwater has been seeping in through the roof and sliding down the inside walls for quite some time, seriously damaging the precious Art Nouveau decorations. Therefore, a structural renovation and restoration of the deteriorated wall paintings is urgently needed.
The diocese took action by approving a project to restore the structures, which was financed with funds from the eight per thousand. However, further funding must be activated for the restoration of the already seriously damaged pictorial cycle.
This church, designed by the famous architect Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda, was commissioned by the Florio family in 1893. Ownership of the church passed from the Florios to the Parodi family in 1939 and, in the 1980s, to the Banca di Credito Cooperativo, which donated it to the Diocese of Trapani in 2000.
To the people of Favignanesi, this church is particularly dear because it is linked to the history of the Florios and the island, because the Rais and the owners prayed to the miraculous Saint Anthony before each slaughter, and also because many of the faces painted on the walls are portraits of young people from Favignanesi who died prematurely.