Mother Church in Grammichele
The Mother Church of Grammichele, dedicated to San Michele Arcangelo, is the main place of worship in the city.
It was built following the earthquake of 1693 which razed the ancient village to the ground, thanks to the donations of the population and of Prince Butera Carlo Maria Carafa Branciforti. The new city of Grammichele was thus founded on 18 April 1963 with the laying of the foundation stone of the new mother church. However, the church was only built thirty years later.
The sacred building stands on the eastern side of a hexagonal square and is preceded by a large staircase culminating in a small churchyard, which makes the building slightly further back than the other buildings overlooking the large square.
The façade, in a simple and elegant Baroque style, is divided into three orders by string course frames, while connecting volutes crowned with tips form the tower composition.
The first order is divided into five sections by order pilasters Doric which are double on the sides. The main portal opens in the center with stone pilasters where the writing Divo Michaeli Arcangelo Dicatum is engraved. The upper molded decoration presents the statue of the titular saint flanked by two angels.
The second order, punctuated by Ionic style pilasters, has two empty niches in the lateral sections and a large central opening which illuminates the hall.
On the third level there is a large three-light window with small balconies which houses the bells. This is punctuated by pilasters that support the triangular tympanum crowned by two small balconies and by the tip where the cross is placed.
The interior, with a Latin cross plan, is divided into three finely decorated naves.
Among the works kept inside the church of particular interest are: among these the two canvases depict the titular saints: the canvas Dispute of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, given to the faithful in 1618 by Prince Branciforte by an unknown author; an ancient canvas from the ancient mother church destroyed by the earthquake; the eighteenth-century canvas depicting Saint Michael the Archangel holding the banner with the image of the Madonna.
