Church of Santa Maria La Vetere in Militello Val di Catania
In the façade, the portal, protected by a portico supported by two column-bearing lions, is the masterpiece-symbol of this church. The reliefs of the portal from 1506, with residual traces of the ancient polychromy, represent: in the lunette, the Virgin enthroned among angels; in the jambs, busts of Prophets and Sibyls; in the bases, Stories of SS. Joachim and Anna; on the spiers, an Annunciation; and in the cusp, the Coronation of the Virgin. They could be the early work of Antonello Gagini.
Inside the church, reduced to a single nave by the terrible earthquake of 1693, you can admire the highly decorated altar of the Nativity dating back to the seventeenth century. In another altar, however, a marble fragment depicting the Annunciation dates back to the 15th century. At the center of the composition, in the lunette, stands the Madonna and Child, adored by two angels and surmounted by a star. In the jambs a host of prophets and sibyls, and in the cusp the Coronation of the Virgin.
