A more intimate celebration, to be experienced at home: Catania is preparing to pay homage to its patron saint, Agatha. In a difficult year, prayer-for those who believe-takes on even more meaning. Far from the public celebrations and fireworks, it remains a time of deep faith, reflection, and spirituality that has deep roots in the city’s history and traditions.

It is this history, this close link between the sacredness of devotion and the folklore of one of the world’s most celebrated religious festivals, that inspired Isola Bella Gioielli to create the St. Agatha’s Jewels collection, in which earrings, pendants and bracelets – handcrafted in gold-plated 925 Sterling silver with enamels and semiprecious gems – pay tribute to Santuzza.

Launched in 2015, the collection over the years has enjoyed worldwide success, also fascinating the thousands of visitors to the “Sicily, culture and conquest” exhibition organized in 2016 at the British Museum in London where – among vases and coins, mosaics and ancient objects – the jewelry from the special collection was also housed: four earrings inspired by the candelore and two bracelets, two necklaces, a charm and a pair of earrings dedicated precisely to the image of St. Agatha.

Over the years other creations such as the pendant and the earrings luminaries and the charm St. Agatha’s minnuzza – a tribute to the famous dessert typical of the feast, which is based on the sacrifice of the young maiden persecuted by Governor Quinziano – were joined in a precious narrative of a celebration and worship that are enshrined in the soul of Catania and its citizens.

In addition, to further strengthen the link with the city and the initiatives aimed at promoting art and culture as part of the Feast Day celebrations, in 2020 Isola Bella made its contribution to “Agatha, the Holy Maiden”, a play by Giovanni Anfuso inspired by the story of the patron saint and performed in the Abbey of St. Agatha, one of the most striking churches in Etna’s capital city.

Thus the
collection of jewelry
– to be worn as a testimony of faith and belonging, beloved even by those who now live far away but retain a strong bond between spirituality and tradition with the city and its Saint – has become a precious tribute to Catania and St. Agatha.