Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Petralia Soprana
The Church of San Pietro e Paolo in Petralia Soprana, also known as Mother Church, is the main place of worship in the village. The date of construction is not known of the church even if it is believed that it is very old. Its current conformation is due to the renovations which took place in 1300 and 1700.
The exterior is characterized by the presence of different styles of wall constructions added over time to the original nucleus. It is enclosed by two bell towers from different periods, the oldest tower has an Arab - Norman window divided by a marble column with a capital in which two marble statuettes of Saints Peter and Paul, patrons of Petralia Soprana. The other tower, which remains unfinished, dates back to the eighteenth century. Between the two towers there is a characteristic colonnade, also known as “Appinnata”, the work of the Serpotta family, with eighteen Tuscan-style columns and pointed arches, which runs along one of its sides. The wooden entrance door has carved panels in the Gothic - Catalan style.
The interior is divided into three naves supported by twelve pillars representing the twelve apostles and is decorated with gilded stucco.
Among the works kept in the church , of particular value are: one of the first crucifixes by the sculptor Frate Umile Pintorno da Petralia Soprana; the polychrome wooden statues of the apostles Peter and Paul that dominate the main altar, made in Catania in 1767 by the Neapolitan Gaetano Franzese; the two statues of the Madonna, that of the Audience and that of the Chain; and the largest organ of the Madonie dating back to 1780, by the eighteenth-century work of Giacomo Andromico.
