Francesco Testa

Born in 1704 in Nicosia, he studied philosophy and jurisprudence in Palermo before being elected as ecclesiastical judge of the Consistory in 1737. In the following years he became Vicar Capitular of Palermo and Bishop of Syracuse. Here, from 1748, he focused on decorating the upper part of the Cathedral, commissioning the sculptures from Marabitti. From 1754, he was in Monreale, where he extended the Palace of the Archiepiscopal Seminary and adorned it with paintings by Gioacchino Martorana. He commissioned the silver high altar, the work of the goldsmith Luigi Valadier, and ordered the Cathedral’s anti-sacristy. His funeral monument, sculpted by Marabitti in 1785, is located in the chapel of St. Benedict and depicts the prelate kneeling while looking towards the high altar where the scene with the Glory of St. Benedict is featured.
The 1775 De vita et rebus gestis Guglielmi II Siciliae Regis Monregalensis Ecclesiae fundito is among his numerous publications.