Sant'Alfio Sanctuary in Trecastagni
The sanctuary of Trecastagni is a church in Lombard Romanesque style dedicated to the holy martyrs Alfio, Cirino and Filadelfo, patron saints of the village.
It was built in 1650, designed by the architect Alfio Torrisi. The church was built by the will of the people after the discovery, in 1517, of the relics of Alfio, Cirino and Filadelfo, then moved to Lentini. Only in 1857 was the bell tower added and subsequently the side naves. In 1928, given the large influx of faithful, the church was elevated to a sanctuary.
The façade, in Lombard Romanesque style with Corinthian references, is striking for the chromatic contrast between the white of the plaster and the black of the lava stone from Etna: the main portal and the window are made of lava stone with stylish columns Corinthian dating back to 1662 while the small portal to the south, surmounted by a coat of arms with the symbols of Martyrdom, is the ancient portal of the old Church and dates back to 1593.
The interior, divided into three naves, has a plan Latin cross. The central chapel, richly decorated with stucco, houses the richly gilded wooden simulacra of the Holy Martyrs sitting on chamber chairs, the work of the Roman sculptor Giuseppe Orlando dating back to the early 1700s. Among the other works kept in the church, worthy of note are: baptismal font in red Taormina marble carved from a single piece dating back to 1713; the eighteenth-century paintings of The Martyrdom of the SS Brothers and the stoning of St. Stephen; the canvasMary SS. of the Gracesand the apotheosis of the SS. Martyrsfrescoed in the center of the apse works by the nineteenth-century Catanese Giuseppe Rapisardi; the pulpit (pulpit exclusively dedicated to the proclamation of biblical readings) in carved and gilded wood built in April 1910.
Inside the Sanctuary there is the Museum of ex-voto which houses the gifts made to the Saints as a sign of gratitude for the grace received. It is a collection of high historical and socio-cultural interest. Of particular interest are the votive tablets, i.e. small pictures of various materials which reproduce the scene of the miracle or grace received through a pictorial drawing.
