Church of Maria SS.ma Annunziata in Mezzojuso
Church of Maria SS.ma Annunziata in Mezzojuso is a Mother Church of the Latin rite and is located upstream of Piazza Umberto I, between the Mezzojuso Castle and the Greek Matrix.
Its construction dates back to the 11th century following the expulsion of the Saracens.
Over the centuries, the building has undergone various alterations, the most important in 1527 and in 1680 when the rear part of the church was enlarged, incorporating part of the castle garden and other lots of land.
The appearance of the external facade is due to an intervention in 1924 and has three portals surmounted by pointed arches, two rose windows and a marble sculpture, arranged in the tympanum, containing the effigy of the Annunziata.
The interior , with a Latin cross plan, is divided into three naves.
Inside the church there are various works of particular value: the sculpture of the Crucifix, in polychrome wood from 1693 by an unknown Sicilian sculptor; two eighteenth-century paintings depicting the Communion of Santa Rosalia, the Virgin appearing to San Vincenzo Ferreri and the Annunciation.
Of particular value is also the sacred furnishings: a gold triptych; the Pyx donated by the Marquis of Rudinì; two ivory crucifixes; numerous wooden statues present inside the chapels located close to the side naves.
