San Libertino

Old town, Agrigento, Agrigento, Sicily, Italy

A deconsecrated church of about 180 square metres in the old town of Agrigento, with a timber roof 9 metres up, at €32,000. The advert gives no name. The evidence says it is San Libertino, built after the plague of 1625 on the spot where the city's first bishop is said to have been killed, and a parish cinema from the 1950s.

Our verdict

Thirty-two thousand euros, slightly negotiable, for the church Agrigento built on the spot where its first bishop was stoned. It was a cinema for seventy years and still has the stage.

The Region cleared it for sale in 2016 and nobody has taken it. Fix the roof, clear the floor and show films in it again.

What is wrong with it

Daylight shows through the roof boards.
Plaster has come off the walls in sheets and the floor is covered in rubble.
The street front is a later block of rough stone built round the old entrance when the church became a cinema. Its windows are broken or blocked.
The advert does not name the church. Our identification rests on the street, the register and the photographs. Get it confirmed in writing.
The altars and the iron gate recorded in the church are gone.
It has been for sale, or cleared for sale, since 2016. Ask why nobody has bought it.

The story

Early centuriesLibertino, by tradition the first bishop of Agrigento, was stoned and killed on the hill then called the Piano degli Zingari. His body was never found.
1625During a plague the people of the city prayed to him and dug on the hill for his bones. They found nothing. The city officials granted the ground for a chapel and a hospice, on condition that digging for the relics stay allowed.
17th centuryThe chapel was enlarged into a church under Bishop Francesco Trahina. A congregation of canons and priests met in it. It had altars to the Ecce Homo and to the Virgin of the Rosary.
1848Bishop Lo Jacono, who restored the church, obtained from Pius IX a proper office for the saint's feast. A later bishop, Lagumina, restored it again.
1950sThe church became a parish cinema. A new block was built round the main door and its staircase.
2016The Region of Sicily declared the church of cultural interest on 1 February and authorised its sale on 9 June.
2022The church was entered in the FAI's Places of the Heart campaign as a former cine-theatre, privately owned, with a plan to reopen it as one.
2026For sale through Studio Atenea at €32,000, the price reduced.

The advert never names the building. We identify it as San Libertino for three reasons. It is the only protected building the regional register lists in Via delle Mura, and that entry carries a permission to sell. The FAI describes San Libertino as a church turned cinema with a block added round its entrance, and the agent's photographs show a stage inside and a later curved block on the street. The size and the single hall fit. That is strong and it is still our inference. Ask the agent to confirm.

Sources: Studio Atenea listing; Region of Sicily, register of protected buildings; FAI, former church of San Libertino; Agrigento Ieri e Oggi, San Libertino

What it needs, and what it might cost

Safe and dry: €27,000 to €54,000
Everything on the list: €72,000 to €164,000
Each year after that: €1,000 to €2,000

Five photographs show a sound stone shell with a tired roof and a wrecked interior. The figures are for making it a usable hall and no more.

What the photographs show

The street front is a curved block of rough yellow stone, three levels high, with a red door, one window with broken glass and four openings blocked in brick or board. It looks later than the church and unfinished.
Inside is a single tall hall. A plastered arch crosses it and the roof is open to the joists and boards, with daylight at two or three points.
The end wall carries a large cross and a small round window with coloured glass.
A raised stage with a black timber front fills one end, with a red painted cabinet on it. This is the cinema and theatre fitting.
The floor is covered in rubble, fallen plaster and broken timber.
Wall plaster is stained to head height and missing in patches. A painted grey dado survives on one side.
An iron tie rod crosses the hall under the roof.

The work, line by line

Now: safe and dry	Rough cost	Based on
Report by a conservation architect, and written confirmation from the Soprintendenza of what the building is and what the 2016 decree requires	€2,000 to €4,000	From a public record
Clear the rubble and repair the timber roof and its covering, about 200 square metres	€25,000 to €50,000	Seen in the photographs

Next: fabric and glass	Rough cost	Based on
Take off loose plaster, stitch the cracks beside the arch and replaster in lime	€15,000 to €35,000	Seen in the photographs
Repair the street block: glaze or reopen the blocked windows, new doors, and a finish the Soprintendenza accepts	€15,000 to €40,000	Seen in the photographs

Later: interior and services	Rough cost	Based on
Wiring, lighting, a WC, a water supply and fire exits, enough to open as a hall	€15,000 to €35,000	Our assumption

Yearly upkeep, €1,000 to €2,000. Insurance, property tax and a yearly roof check.

Grants. Owners of protected buildings in Italy can claim tax relief on approved restoration costs. The FAI listing means there is local interest to draw on.

Condition, as the listing describes it

General	To be restored.	From the listing
Roof	Timber beams about 9 metres up.	From the listing
Energy rating	G.	From the listing
Services	Not stated.	Unknown

These are our rough estimates and not quotes. Nobody from this site has been inside the building. We measured from the listing, looked at its photographs, applied published local rates for 2025 and 2026, and raised them for scaffolding, height and heritage rules. Figures are for works only, before architect's fees of 10 to 15% and VAT. Rot, structural movement and asbestos do not show in a photograph. How we estimate.

The seller

Not stated. A private non-profit body in 2016.. The regional register lists San Libertino in 2016 as owned by a private non-profit legal person, the category that covers parishes and confraternities, and records an authorisation to sell dated 9 June 2016. The FAI page describes it as privately owned. Ask the agent who holds it now.

What you may do with it

Light use. It is protected by a regional decree and it has already been a cinema for seventy years. A hall for film, music or exhibitions is the use the building and the agent both point to. The Soprintendenza in Agrigento approves the works.

Sacred status

Consecration	Described as deconsecrated. No date or decree given.	Unknown
Dedication	San Libertino, first bishop of Agrigento, feast on 3 November. The advert does not name the church. See the story tab for why we say it is this one.	Checked by us

Heritage status

Protection	The Sicilian register of protected buildings has one entry in Via delle Mura: the Chiesa di San Libertino, a place of worship, declared of cultural interest by decree D.D.G. 191 of 1 February 2016.	Checked by us
Sale	The same entry records an authorisation to sell, dated 9 June 2016.	Checked by us
What that means	Works need the Soprintendenza's written approval. A sale of a protected building must be notified, and the Region can buy in your place within 60 days. Have the notary confirm both.	Unknown

What comes with it

Floor area	About 180 square metres in all.	From the listing
Hall	About 130 square metres of open floor.	From the listing
Other rooms	The rest is partly on a mezzanine and has been used for services, offices and storage.	From the listing

The dead

Burials

Not mentioned.

Unknown

Getting there

Street

Via delle Mura, which takes cars and has parking, close to the cathedral and to Via Atenea.

From the listing

People to call

Selling agent: Studio Atenea, Via Atenea 103, Agrigento, 0922 595016
Heritage authority: Soprintendenza per i Beni Culturali e Ambientali di Agrigento

"From the listing" means the seller's agent says so. "Checked by us" means we confirmed it against a public record, linked where possible. "Unknown" is a question to put to the agent before you visit.