Church of Santa Maria dell'Itria in Delia
The Church of Santa Maria dell'Itria in Delia is an ancient and important building of worship in the village. The church is dedicated to the Madonna dell'Odigitria, the oldest and most widespread cult in Sicily.
The year of construction of the building is not known but it is certain that the church existed before 1602, the year in which the church was founded confraternity of Santa Maria dell'Itria, the oldest of the Delia confraternities. It was rebuilt in 1745 and reopened for worship in 1769.
The simple gabled façade with a gable supported by two lateral pilasters has a single central door surmounted by a large window. The building is flanked by a bell tower built in 1988.
The interior, with a single nave, is enriched with gilded stucco.
Inside the church there are works of particular artistic value: wooden statue of the Madonna of 'Itria; the statue of the Savior sculpted around 1755 by Bagnasco which is used in the "Meeting" of Easter Sunday; the eighteenth-century statue of Saint Lucia; the sculptural group of the Madonna and the angel of the announcement, by Francesco Biangardi; a canvas of the Madonna della Rocca from 1756.
