The cult of St. Agatha is not strictly Catanian: the Saint is venerated all over the world. St. Agatha is the Patron of 44 Italian municipalities, and 14 of them bear her name. Besides, St. Agatha is among the Patrons of Malta and S. Marino. In Spain, she is worshipped in Andalucia and in Jeria (Valencia). The chapel in Barcelona where the Catholic sovereigns welcomed Christopher Columbus back from his first trip to America, is dedicated to St. Agatha. A peculiar tradition takes place in Zamarramal (Segovia): on the 5tb of February, women are the masters of the city.

In Portugal, St. Agatha is the Patron of Agueda. In Germany Agatha is the Patron of Aschaffemburg. In France, St. Agatha is venerated in Le Fournet (Normandy). The cult was grandiosely celebrated in Costantinople, while in Greece the Saint is extremely popular, specially in the Aetolian region. Even in India, in Viayawala, a cult of St. Agatha exists, and in Argentina, where she is the Patron of firemen. The cult is widely spread in Italy, specially in Lombardia, but also in Rome, Florence and Naples.

Works of art honoring St. Agatha are spread all over the world: in Ukraine (in Kiev), Italy (in Ravenna, Uffizi Museum and Galleria Pitti in Florence), Austria, Malta, and Spain. In most of Catanian private houses and in those churches where the Saint is officially venerated, busts of St. Agatha are easy to be found. The whole province of Catania is rich with works of art dedicated to such a cult: the most famous of them is in Nicolosi, where Cardinal Dusmet saved the city using the veil St. Agatha to stop lava flows.

S. Agata

3rd february

4th february

5th february

"Candlemas"