Sanctuary of Madonna di Tagliavia in Corleone
The Sanctuary of Tagliavia stands on the back of the Rocca di Bavaria , close to the Ficuzza wood and the Gole del Drago .
The construction of the sacred building took place following an event that occurred in the second half of the eighteenth century. At that time, the fiefdom was leased for pastoral use to the Lo Jacono brothers. It is said that one day, the children of these shepherds, playing among the stones, see a boulder, which unlike the others was well squared off, above which a sacred image was portrayed representing the image of the Virgin of the Rosary. The discovery turned out to be a prodigious event because at the exact point where the icon was found, a spring with waters of miraculous power, beneficial for both men and herds, gushed out.
The façade of the building, made of stone from the nearby fortress of Bavaria, was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1876 on a project by the Palermo architect G. B. F. Basile to be considered subsequent to the internal architectural construction, as. The church has a single nave structure decorated with a variety of carving stuccoes covered in pure gold. The thin plaster columns, placed sideways, give the whole a neoclassical style. The main altar is made of marble with wood carvings covered in pure gold.
Among the works kept inside it of considerable value is the painting of the Virgin of the Rosary placed on the main altar dating back to the second half of the eighteenth century. The painting depicts the Lady of the Rosary seated with the Child in her arms and in the act of offering, with her right hand, a Rosary crown to St. Dominic and St. Catherine genuflecting. The work, by an unknown artist, is inspired by the technique of the Flemish painter Van Dick.
The walls of the presbytery represent the story of the birth of the Sanctuary: the discovery of the sacred image and the construction of the church are depicted. These frescoes are attributed to the Palermo painter Giuseppe Carta. The painting representing the Holy Family among the Angels of 1872 is also attributed to the same author.
Today the Sanctuary is guarded by the Marian Family "The Five Stones". Open all year round, it is the destination of numerous pilgrimages and a welcome center.
