He was born in Gesso, near
Messina, and had his initial studies in Messina under
Antonio Alberti, who was nicknamed
Barbalonga. He then moved to Rome, where he worked in the studios of
Nicolas Poussin and
Pietro da Cortona. In 1641, he travelled to the
Veneto (mainly
Venice and
Padua) to work with
Domenico Maroli, established relationships with the
Borromeo family in Padua and returned, in 1650, to Messina. In 1678, he fled the city after participating in the
Messina rebellion against the Spanish authorities, seeking refuge initially in France and then in Padua, Mantua, and Ancona. Pardoned, he returned to Messina in 1701. He died in 1706 in Gesso. Many of his paintings in Messina were destroyed by the earthquakes of
1783 and
1908. Only his
Madonna del Soccorso remains presently in the Museo Regionale. In
Milazzo, he painted in the churches of San Giuseppe and San Papino. Other paintings by Onofrio Gabrieli are in the following Sicilian towns:
Siracusa,
Randazzo,
Monforte San Giorgio,
Contesse, and Gesso. He painted an altarpiece of the
Virgin with child, Saints Clare, John the Evangelist, and Nicolò (1695), for the church of Santa Chiara in
Montelupone nelle Marche. He also frescoed biblical themes for the villa Borromeo in
Padua. Other paintings with biblical themes are in the church in
Montagnana and in the church of
Santa Maria del Carmine in Padua. ==References==