Church of Maria SS. Immaculate in Santa Venerina
The church Maria Santissima Immacolata in Santa Venerina is the place of worship in the village of Dagala del Re.
The original structure was built in 1631 at the behest of Francesco Mazzullo, the young heir of a rich and noble family in about to be ordained a priest. The earthquake of 1693 caused serious damage to the structure which was subsequently restored, enlarged and enriched with decorative elements.
The façade, in neoclassical style with baroque inserts, is divided into two orders by a stringcourse frame, and is divided into three parts by two pairs of pilasters with Ionic style capitals. In the central part, slightly overhanging, the main portal opens up flanked by two columns that support the entablature and the tympanum, and surmounted by an ovoid window. On the sides the two pairs of pilasters separate the central body from the two lateral ones. In the two lateral bodies there are two smaller portals with two small ovoid windows. Two pilaster strips close the façade laterally. On the second order a broken arched tympanum frames the church clock. At the top, crowning the façade, stands a bell tower with three lights.
The interior, divided into three naves, houses works of particular artistic value: the altarpiece by Giuseppe Zacco depicting Sant'Antonio Abate dating back to 1830; the Holy Family attributed to the students of Pietro Paolo Vasta; two wooden sculptures depicting angels; the wooden crucifix by an unknown author, placed on the main altar, dating back to the end of the eighteenth century.
