Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta

The Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta is Castelvetrano's mother church, begun in 1520 and developed over several centuries. Its Renaissance structure preserves a carved wooden ceiling beam, an arabesque portal and important works of Sicilian painting and sculpture.

Why it matters

Known as the Duomo or Chiesa Madre, the church remains the principal parish of Castelvetrano under the Diocese of Mazara del Vallo. Its architecture records the town's Renaissance growth and later Baroque additions, followed by a restoration in 1849 that removed much of the later decoration.

What to notice

The church has a basilican plan with three naves beneath a wooden truss roof. The decorated central beam bears carved coats of arms, instruments and weapons. At the high altar hangs Orazio Ferraro's 1619 Assunta. The triumphal arches are attributed to Vincenzo Messina and Serpotta. The sacristy preserves vestments and sacred objects from the fifteenth to twentieth centuries.

Context and history

A church dedicated to Santa Maria la Nova and San Nicolò preceded the present building. Work on its replacement began in 1520, and a design commission dated to 1604 is associated with Antonio Spadafora. The first order of the facade was completed by 1660; the upper facade was finished in 1912. In 1849 architects Cavallari and Viviani removed much of the accumulated Baroque decoration. The church's later additions include a marble group of the Beato Agostino Novello by Filippo Sgarlata at the central portal.