Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta

The church of Santa Maria Assunta stands on the main square of Civita, an Arbëreshe town in Calabria. Its basilical plan and late-Baroque decoration frame a Byzantine liturgical tradition, expressed in a carved iconostasis and a cycle of icons.

Why it matters

The church, known originally as the Chiesa Nuova, was built in the seventeenth century to serve Civita's community. It is the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta within the Eparchy of Lungro, the Byzantine Catholic diocese of the Italo-Albanians of continental Italy. The church brings together a basilical architectural plan and the community's Byzantine rite.

What to notice

The walnut-and-olive-wood iconostasis was installed in 1988 under the direction of Papàs Antonio Trupo. Twelve icons on its upper beam were painted in 1992 by Ernesto Kominos. The church also contains an early-twentieth-century mosaic medallion of the Virgin Hodegetria and four frescoes signed and dated 1858 by Giovanni Capaccio. The side altars include reliefs with images such as a double-headed eagle, tower and ship. A square bell tower with three bells and an 1896 clock rises above the building.

Context and history

The municipality dates construction to the first decades through the middle of the seventeenth century. The church's liturgical arrangement changed in 1988, when the iconostasis replaced the Latin altar. Twenty-seven tombs were found beneath the floor, attesting to the church's long role in the parish community. Its art and Byzantine rite remain closely connected to Civita's Arbëreshe heritage.