Church of Madonna delle Grazie in Zafferana
The Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Zafferana Etnea, despite being a recent construction, is among the most significant in the city, having been for a long time the main place of worship in the city.
The church was built following the earthquake of 1818 which made the Mother Church unusable, with the aim of giving citizens a temporary place of worship. The primitive structure was entirely in wood, and the land on which it was built had been kindly lent by its owner. In a short time the church became an affective symbol for all citizens, so it was decided at the beginning of the twentieth century, at the end of the work on the mother church, not to tear it down but to rebuild it in masonry, thanks also to the owner of the land who donated his property to the community.
The church was built in the Art Nouveau style. It has a single-order tripartite facade with two side towers incorporated into the structure, the first with the bell tower and the second with the clock. The interior, with a single nave, is very simple and accompanied by a few works of art. The roof structure is made of wood, to recall the first historic building of the nineteenth century.
