Church of Santa Maria della Cava in Geraci
The Church of Santa Maria della Cava rises inside a wood in the territory between Geraci Siculo and Castelbuono, close to the deep valley of the Annunziata.
It was built in the 14th century, at the time of Francesco I Ventimiglia, and you can still see artifacts of great architectural value, sculptural and pictorial such as the door ogival, the rose window, both decorated in relief, the internal pointed arch mounted with linear block stones, the windows in Romanesque style, the remains of Byzantine frescoes, one of which depicts the bust of a saint.
La façade is made up of squared ashlars and the portal defined by three different ogival rings: the first is made up of ashlars arranged radially and rounded in the intrados, the intermediate one by a sequence of circles with geometric motifs, while the outer one has a motif to fingernail. A decorative rhombus band, perhaps originally inlaid with lava stone tiles, runs just above the portal and extends to the entire facade, which at the top has an oculus and two arches for the bells.
The church, originally annexed to a Benedictine monastery, it has a single nave ending in three apses, of which the central one protrudes outside and is decorated with white stone pilasters connected by brick arches.
