Basilica of Santa Caterina in Pedara
The Basilica of Santa Caterina Alessandrina in Pedara is one of the most valuable examples of black churches on Etna.
A first religious building was built in 1388 in a position further north than the current one inhabited at the behest of the local inhabitants and was dedicated to the Annunziata. It is believed that eruptions and earthquakes caused extensive damage to the building and the ancient settlement and forced the inhabitants to move south and build a new place of worship. The new church was built in 1547 and dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, it was enlarged in 1691 and almost completely destroyed in 1693 by the terrible earthquake in the Val di Noto. It was rebuilt again in 1705 at the behest of the priest Diego Pappalardo.
The church stands imposingly on the large churchyard in front of it, reachable via a short staircase. The churchyard was built only at the end of the nineteenth century and incorporated an ancient seventeenth-century cistern.
The façade is characterized by the elegant chromatic contrast between the dark gray of the lava stone and the light gray of the plaster. It is broken down into four bays corresponding to the three internal naves and the bell tower.
Of particular importance are the monumental lava stone portals with their mixed decorations: the central portal is made up of double columns enriched by bas-reliefs of cherubs and floral ornaments , at the bottom, and grooves at the top. The columns, surmounted by Corinthian capitals, support a straight architrave, with a sculpted and decorated frieze. On it there is a broken arched gable that connects the base of the large window with jambs and architrave worked in bas-relief. Above we find the coat of arms of the Di Giovanni barons, the ancient owners of the farmhouse, the only element in white stone.
Another valuable element that characterizes the facade is the bell tower divided into three levels: the first level, which reaches the entablature , features a sixteenth-century rose window in white stone that comes from the ancient church of 1547; the second level, delimited by pilasters, houses the bell tower with an arched window with a columned parapet surmounted by an eighteenth-century rose window; the third level, in the shape of a tower, has a balustrade supported by brackets with arches in lava stone with Ghibelline battlements, in the part above the clock, and ends with a cone-shaped cuspal part supported by a drum that connects it to the structure principal. Of particular value is the cladding of the roof of the spire with polychrome tiles, which represents one of the most interesting examples on the whole island.
The interior is divided into three naves, a succession of pillars with round arches and, on the model of the early Christian basilica, it has no transept and only a triumphal arch connects the apse and central nave. The entire room is decorated with fresco paintings, the work of Giovanni Lo Coco and his school from Acivia: in the central part, scenes from the life and martyrdom of Saints John the Baptist and Catherine are depicted, while in the apse area there are scenes from the life of the saint owner Santa Caterina.
Of particular value artistic and historical is the stone portal, in Romanesque style dated 1547, considered the oldest monument in Pedara, which separates the church from the sacristy and parish offices. It is the main portal of the first church built in 1547. Of particular interest are the 122 nails which can still be seen today in the doors of its chestnut door placed in memory of the families who contributed to the construction of the church original.
