Chiesa di Maria S.S. Assunta - Matrice Vecchia

The Church of Santa Maria Assunta, documented since the 13th century and likely built on the ruins of an ancient pagan temple, is one of the most important religious buildings in the area. Built during the rule of Francesco II Ventimiglia in late Romanesque-Gothic style, it was expanded over the centuries with the addition of a fourth nave and the external portico, later closed in the 17th century.

The building is distinguished by its majestic Romanesque-Gothic bell tower, topped by a pinnacle covered in polychrome glazed tiles, its elegant 14th-century Catalan-Gothic portal, and its unusual Ghibelline battlements, a rare feature in a church.

The interior houses precious works of the Sicilian Renaissance, including the 1493 marble ciborium by Mastro Giorgio da Milano, wooden and marble sculptures, the fresco of the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine, and a unique polyptych depicting the apostle Andrew holding a pair of lenses. Beneath the high altar is the evocative 16th-century crypt, decorated with medieval and Renaissance frescoes dedicated to the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Pastor: Don Giuseppe Vacca