Church of Santa Maria dell'Elemosina in Biancavilla
Archenzo - CC3.0
The collegiate Basilica sanctuary of Santa Maria dell'Elemosina in Biancavilla is the main church of the city.
It is believed that the construction of the church dates back to the end of the fifteenth century, immediately after the foundation of the city in 1488. The building was then expanded during the seventeenth century, during which the side naves were added, and during the eighteenth century, when these were lengthened. The facade, however, was only completed at the end of the nineteenth century. The dome, built and frescoed in the first half of the nineteenth century, collapsed just three months after its inauguration and was never rebuilt.
The façade, which combines classical and neo-baroque forms, is one of the most representative examples of the Sicilian eclectic style. Of great charm is the nineteenth-century monumental bell tower, the work of the Milanese Carlo Sada, which with its 50 m height is the tallest bell tower in the province of Catania.
The interior of the basilica, in the shape of a Latin cross, is divided into three naves decorated with golden stuccoes from the end of the 18th century. Along the naves hang majestic Murano glass chandeliers offered as votive offerings to the Madonna dell'Elemosina in the mid-19th century.
Among the works kept inside the basilica, of notable artistic value are: the Byzantine icon, painted on cedar wood in egg tempera, of the Mother of God Elèusa, the Madonna of the Alms, dating back to the early 15th century; the frescoes created by G. Tamo in 1722, located inside the Chapel of San Placido, which depict the scenes of the martyrdom and apotheosis of the saint; the sixteenth-century Spanish-style wooden statue of San Zenone; the Renaissance statue of San Nicola di Mira by an unknown author, discovered in 2015 inside the seventeenth-century statue of San Biagio; the eighteenth-century wooden crucifix.
