Church of the Annunciation in Castelbuono
Derbrauni - CC4.0
The Church of the Annunziata in Castelbuono is an ancient place of worship that stands within the large plan of the Castle, within its ancient walls.
The date of construction is not known but it is certain that the building already existed in the 16th century. In the 17th century, the religious of the Cassinese Congregation from the monastery of Gangi Vecchio settled in the adjacent monastery granted by Francesco Ventimiglia III. In 1943, the female institute of the Daughters of the Cross was annexed to the church.
The simple gabled façade is enriched by an elegant entrance portal on which the coat of arms of the Ventimiglia family and that of the Spadafora family stand out. The presence of the two coats of arms is due to the fact that the embellishment of the church was financed by a lady of the Spadafora family married in Ventimiglia. The body of the building is flanked by a massive Romanesque bell tower on which a pre-Baroque spire is grafted.
The interior, with a single nave, is located at a lower level than the street surface of the square and is accessed via a staircase. The side walls are enriched by four chapels with altars.
Among the works kept in the church of particular value are: the sixteenth-century statue of the Virgin of the Gaginiana school and the fresco by the painter Pietro Novelli, depicting the Benedictine saints, located on the high altar; the canvas by Giuseppe Salerno, known as the Zoppo di Gangi, located in the chapel on the right.
