San Placido, Baroque church in central Catania, Italy

San Placido is a late-baroque church on Piazza San Placido, two blocks east of Catania Cathedral. Its facade of white Taormina stone is concave at the centre and ends in two pointed buttresses, with statues of Saint Placid and Saint Benedict flanking the single door. Inside is one nave with fluted half-columns, gilded stucco and four side altars holding paintings by Michele Rapisardi and Michele De Napoli.

The church began in 1409 on the site of an ancient Roman temple dedicated to Bacchus. After the earthquake of 1693 destroyed much of Catania, it was rebuilt in the baroque style visible today.

The monastery connected to this church now houses the State Archives of Catania, where the public comes to research historical documents. This repurposing shows how sacred spaces continue to serve the community in different ways.

The church faces Piazza San Placido, two blocks east of the cathedral, with the former monastery block bounded by Via Vittorio Emanuele II, Via Landolina and Via Museo Biscari. The single portal sits in the concave centre of the facade, behind a convex wrought-iron railing bearing the emblem of Saint Benedict. The monastery section now holds the State Archives and the Palazzo della Cultura, used for exhibitions.

The marble tympanum above the portal carried a placard reading "D(ivo) Placido, Sumo patrono sacrae virginis, A.S. MDCCLXIX". The monastery was suppressed in 1873, and its buildings now hold the Archivio di Stato di Catania and the Palazzo della Cultura.