Church of Sant'Antonio di Padova in Agira
The Church of Sant'Antonio di Padova in Agira was built in 1505 and dedicated to Santa Maria Vergine, it was renovated in 1567 and dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua.
The facade of the church dates back to the second half of the 1700s. while the bell tower with the characteristic majolica spire dates back to 1680. The dome was completed in 1854 by the architect Di Stefano, who modified the original design, finding the base not very solid; he added a second wall to wrap around the tambour and reduced the eight openings of the original project to four, alternating them with coupled columns.
In 1869 a fire destroyed part of the frescoes on the vaults, the main altar and the choir. Of the precious carved choir, only a few stalls remain used for the closets in the sacristy. The restoration work has revealed the existence of an earlier phase of the church, corresponding in plan to the central nave.
Inside is the painting of the Epiphany on marble, probably the work of a 16th century Roman mannerist, the wooden statue of San Silvestro from 1604 and the marble statue of the Madonna dei Poveri, dating back to the mid-16th century.
