Church of Sant'Anna in Aidone
Morgantia07 - CC1.0
The Church of Sant'Anna in Aidone and the adjoining convent of the Observant Fathers of San Francesco constitute an important religious complex in the village.
The church was built in the 17th century although it is believed that the walls on the western side belong to a building of more ancient origins, probably a mosque. The convent was built starting in 1623 at the behest of the Observant Fathers and, at the same time, the church was enlarged and enriched. In 1640 the Reformed Fathers took over and dedicated the church to Santa Rosalia although in popular tradition the ancient name remained. The earthquake of 1693 destroyed the convent of which only part of the cloister remains.
The church has a simple gabled façade in living stone with a single portal surmounted by a rectangular window.
The interior, with a single nave, is devoid of decorative elements with the exception of the high altar in Baroque style, decorated with two-tone marble inlays, black and white, and the side altar of Sant'Anna, also in Baroque style.
Of notable artistic value is the Wooden Crucifix by Friar Umile Pintorno da Petralia, from 1635, a masterpiece by this artist.
Among the other works kept in the church, of particular value are: the canvas depicting San Francesco di Paola, the work of the brothers Francesco and Giuseppe Vaccaro of Caltagirone; the canvas of Sant'Anna, the work of Pietro Novelli known as il Monrealese; a sixteenth-century holy water stoup from the Gagini school; an inlaid wardrobe, the work of Fra Innocenzo da Petralia, kept in the sacristy.
Of the cloister of the ancient convent, only the side adjacent to the Church remains, with columns cut from single blocks of sandstone, with Doric-style capitals, and arches shaped from terracotta bricks. In the centre of the courtyard, the well that supplied the convent is still visible.
