Cathedral of Novara of Sicily
The Cathedral of Novara di Sicilia, dedicated to Maria SS. Assunta, is a building of considerable artistic and historical value.
It was built in 1400, in the place where the first church of the ancient town once stood. The decorations of the church were carried out gradually until the sec. XIX and modified in 1948 following the war events that caused damage to the structure.
The monumental facade is enriched by severe monolithic columns with Corinthian capitals, arches and various artifacts all made of local sandstone worked by skilled stonemasons. The church is flanked by a majestic bell tower, a squat tower, built during the 18th century. The elevation of the spire was added in 1948 and houses two orders of bells.
The interior, in the Corinthian style, is divided into three naves in the shape of a Latin cross, separated by twelve columns. Contributing to the magnificence of this sacred building are the twelve marble altars in which there is the "cipollino" extracted from the local quarries.
Among the works kept in the church of particular artistic value are: a wooden choir with carvings from the 18th century, the painting of the Spasimo or Fall of Christ by Antonio Catalano dating back to 1598, the painting of the Virgin of Carmel dating back to the seventeenth century, the painting of San Michele Arcangelo from 1737, the painting of Santa Venera del Cardillo from 1607 and a large canvas by Assunta Incoronata Regina by Giuseppe Russo from 1805; the wooden statue of the Virgin of the Assumption, patron saint of the village, by the Neapolitan sculptor Filippo Colicci from 1764.
In the sacristy, in which there are three large artistic wooden wardrobes dating back to the 1700s, there is a painting on wood, dating back to 1570 , depicting the scene of the Annunciation of the Lord, by the Venetian artist Francesco Stetera () from the Abbey of Santa Maria La Noara, a painting considered to be the true portrait of Sant'Ugo Abate, the patron saint of the village .
Below the apse is a Crypt, used until the beginning of the 1900s, which houses the mortal remains of the archpriests, canons and vicars forane. Some mummified bodies are still present today.
Inside the cathedral complex, some rooms house the Cathedral Treasury which collects the silver, gold and sacred vestments belonging to the Parish. Of particular historical and artistic importance are a Gothic-style censer and an ancient Arab terracotta vase known as the giara di S. Ugo, which according to tradition was used by the saint for the blessing and healing of get sick.
