It hides among the alleys of the city center, but those who find it do not forget it: Santa Maria dell'Ogninella.

Just a few steps from the folkloric fish market, a few meters from the Cattedrale di Sant'Agata, behind Piazza Università, among the narrow streets of the historic center, lies the Chiesa di Santa Maria dell'Ogninella.

It is not the church of grand processions nor of solemn squares, but a church that one encounters almost by chance, like an old photo rediscovered after a long time. It hides, discreetly, almost in the shadow of its more famous, more lavish, more luxurious sisters, a church that blends with the other buildings, a church waiting to be discovered, a surprise, a small treasure chest that contains a great treasure.

Few know its name, almost no one knows its history, but It is there, with the painting of the Madonna dell'Ogninella, watching over the people of Catania like a mother watches over her child, co-patroness alongside Sant'Agata.

It is there, with its unmistakable and unusual circular shape, which almost seems to evoke the circularity and cyclicality of life and time, time that flows inexorably, but which in the Church of Ogninella seems to have stopped. It is there, and every aspect and characteristic leads the traveler back to the city of Catania.

The lava stone facade, the stone of Catania that carries within it the contrasts of this place, dark like the events for which it is sadly known in the world, but burning and passionate like the red of the lava that created this stone. And once again «a Muntagna» is present in the blinding white of the interior walls, reminiscent of snow illuminated by sunlight, shining and taking on various shades.

It is there to remind us of the strength of the people of Catania, who rise again from the earthquake of 1693 and the eruption of 1669.

And so the church merges with the city and the city with the church, becoming one. And just like an “invisible city”, the Chiesa di Santa Maria dell'Ogninella disappears again, hiding among the other buildings but remains indelible in the memory of the traveler.

Liceo Statale Turrisi Colonna, Catania