Church of Mary Most Holy of Carmel

Questo post è disponibile anche in: Italiano

The Church of Carmine, attached to the former convent of the Carmelite Friars, is an 18th-century reconstruction of an original building from 1530, of whose structure the frescoed vault remains visible. The makeover was supported by Father Modesto Giarratana. In 1732 the friars asked the civic council to expand the convent and liturgical spaces.

The single-nave building with a lunetted barrel vault features a semicircular apse, chancel and eight side altars framed by elegant Baroque elements. A 1760 inscription on the chancel balustrade indicates its completion date.

The high altar is dedicated to theAnnunciation, with a neoclassical painting by Giuseppe Carta (1851) and a marble altar made in 1858, decorated with gilded reliefs inspired by biblical episodes. The church also preserves valuable wooden statues, including those of St. Elijah and St. Elisha, the latter probably by the same author, Francesco Sciambra, active in the second half of the 17th century.

Other works include a wooden group of St. Joseph and the Infant Jesus (1719, Antonio Campisi), a Madonna of Mount Carmel with St. Simon Stock, traceable to the Bagnasco school, and the so-called Madonna of Purity from the 19th century. Also present are statues of St. Eligius and St. Sebastian, the latter juxtaposed with a fine tabernacle in the form of a small temple.

In the 1960s, the historic wrought-iron gate and the ancient wooden door from 1746 by master Pietro Guarino of Palermo were lost.