Church of S. Maria del Soccorso and Monastery in Castel di Lucio
HaguardDuNord - CC4.0
The Church of S. Maria del Soccorso in Castel di Lucio is one of the main religious buildings in the village and houses works of particular artistic value.
Next to the church stands the Convent of the Friars Minor, now abandoned by the friars.
From sources handed down orally, it is believed that initially the convent was built in another place and that, following a landslide that completely destroyed it, it was rebuilt in this new location.
Inside the church, on the vault, there are frescoes by notable artistic value made by Salvatore De Caro, whose themes and features recall those of the church of San Carlo, made by the same artist. Biblical episodes are depicted, with the exception of the central fresco which illustrates the moment in which Saint Francis offers Castel di Lucio to the Madonna del Soccorso. The frescoes on the vault of the presbytery, on the other hand, are dedicated to San Francesco d'Assisi.
Among the works kept inside the church, of considerable value are: the statue of the Madonna del Soccorso, of the Neapolitan school, dating back to the sixteenth century; a tabernacle inlaid with the face of the Hecce Homo; the canvas depicting the Ascension of St. Francis, by Michelangelo Salvo from 1871.
