Oratory of Saint Lawrence

The history

The Oratory was built around 1570 by the Company of Saint Francis on the ruins of an ancient small church dedicated to Saint Lawrence. It was soon entrusted to the friars of the nearby Convent of Saint Francis, who were tasked with burying the poor of the Kalsa district. Only later was it embellished with the stuccowork of GIACOMO SERPOTTA, who worked here between 1699 and 1706. On the altar was kept Caravaggio'smasterpiece, The Nativity, a work from 1609, which was stolen in 1969 and never recovered.