Mother Church of Adrano
The Mother Church of Adrano , dedicated to Maria Santissima Assunta, was built in the Norman era, although today it has a late Baroque style facade, and is located adjacent to the defense tower in the 'current Piazza Umberto.
Originally the church was composed of a single nave, and under the government of the Moncada, after the earthquake of 1693 which damaged it, the church underwent various alterations and extensions following which the raising of the central nave and the construction of the apse and the two side chapels. In 1750 the marvelous dome was added to the church, covered with brilliant bricks from Valenza. During the 1950s, the reinforced concrete skeleton of an unfinished bell tower was placed on the church. The incomplete structure remained on the ramparts until 1997 when, at the behest of the municipal administration, it was demolished, restoring the church to its original form.
In the majestic facade, divided into three areas by stone pilasters, the central portal is flanked by pairs of columns that support a Baroque tympanum containing the marble statue of the Virgin of the Assumption, to which the Church is dedicated.
The interior has three naves separated by basalt columns which, according to tradition, belonged to the ancient temple of the god Adranon. Of great interest are the choir and the high altar in polychrome marble. On the cross rises the dome supported by pillars in lava stone.
Among the works kept inside the church, of particular interest are: the sacred paintings by the distinguished Adranite painter Giuseppe Guzzardi; the statue of Christ at the Column; the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, a work of 1764 set in a magnificent gilded wooden frame. Of particular value is the Moncada Polyptych , one of the most grandiose polyptychs in Sicily, dating back to the 16th century and attributed to Salvo di Antonio, grandson of the famous Antonello da Messina.
