Church of Santa Maria La Vecchia in Collesano
The Church of Santa Maria Assunta, also known as the Church of Santa Maria la Vecchia, is an ancient religious building in the city.
It stands in the oldest part of the city, the Bavarino district, now known as Bagherino.
The church was built in 1140 and was the matrix of Collesano until 1543 when, following the demographic increase of the town, the title of matrix passed to the Church of Santa Maria la Nuova, Basilica of Saints Peter and Paolo.
Only a pointed arch portal and a fragment of a fresco dating back to the mid-1400s remain of the ancient building.
Internally, the church is divided into three naves and the walls are decorated with frescoes. In particular, the presbytery, which dates back to 1647, is decorated with frescoes and stuccoes by the local painter Giovanni Giacomo Lo Varchi.
The church houses works of considerable artistic value: the Madonna with Child by Antonello Gagini dating back to the early 16th century ; the wooden work of the Virgin of the Assumption by the sculptor Bernardo Colloca, dating back to 1526; a baptismal font carved in stone bearing the year 1594; the fercolo di Santa Lucia dating back to the period between the 1800s and 1900s.
