Convent Church in Piedimonte Etneo
The Church of the Capuchin Convent in Piedimonte Etneo, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, and the adjoining convent constitute an important religious complex within which the most precious sacred furnishings of the Etna village are kept.
The complex was built between 1731 and 1749 at the behest of Prince Ferdinando Francesco, prince of Palagonia, and his brother Giovanni Battista, knight of Malta, who, in 1728, donated a large sum of money for the construction of the Franciscan Convent and the Church of 'Immaculate, providing it with precious sacred furnishings.
The simple gabled façade of the church has a large arch, covered by a cross vault, which forms a large external atrium into which the entrance portal opens surrounded by a stone frame with the symbol of the Franciscan Order at the top. A large window opens in the center of the facade, corresponding to the choir loft.
The interior, with a single nave, has side altars within niches, following the typical scheme of convent churches. Of particular value are the wooden inlay altars and the tribune of the main altar which incorporates a grandiose tabernacle characterized by an overlapping of columns and niches.
Among the works kept in the church, of particular artistic value are: the wooden sculpture of the Immaculate Conception; the two paintings depicting Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Francis, placed on the side altars; the canvas of the Nativity of Jesus, placed to crown the central altar.
