Church of San Francesco in Militello in Val di Catania
The Church of San Francesco di Paola in Militello in Val di Catania and the adjoining convent constitute an important religious complex in the village.
It was built in 1480 at the behest of the baron of Militello Antonio Piero Barresi. In the early 1500s it was enlarged and a monastery was built where the Dominican friars settled. In 1613, following the transfer of the Dominicans, the Minim Friars of San Francesco di Paola settled there. The earthquake of 1693 caused extensive damage to the structure which was subsequently renovated.
The simple gabled façade, delimited by two corner pilasters, has a single round-arched portal, flanked by pilasters that support the trabeation, surmounted by a tombstone. At the top there is a window with a lowered arch.
The interior, with a single nave, has valuable late-Baroque stucco; only the stuccos that decorate the main altar and frame the statue of San Francesco di Paola, are prior to the earthquake of 1693.
Of particular value are the works kept inside the church: a 1552 panel by Francesco Frazzetto from Militello depicting the Annunciation; a 1630 canvas depicting Sant'Isidoro Agricola, a work by the artist from Militello Giovan Battista Baldanza jr.; a gilded wooden throne from 1718, a gift from the Prince of Butera and Marquis of Militello Nicolò Placido III Branciforte. Many of these works of art are now on display at the Museo San Nicolò.
