Church of Santa Maria in Ferla
Davide Mauro - CC4.0
The church and convent of Santa Maria di Gesù in Ferla constitute an important religious complex in the city.
It is known that the church and the adjoining convent already existed at the beginning of the 1400s. It was then that Queen Bianca, wife of Martino I king of Sicily, arrived in Ferla decided to expand the existing structure. However, the original structure was completely destroyed by the earthquake of 1693; the reconstruction followed which was completed in the second half of the eighteenth century.
The church is located in an elevated position with respect to the street level and the wall below has ceramic paintings that narrate the associated legend of the arrival of the statue of the Madonna in Ferla.< br>The gabled façade, in ashlars of squared stone, has a large portal surmounted by a window.
The interior of the church, with a single nave, has five altars.
Among the works kept inside of the church, of notable artistic value are: a wooden crucifix by Giovanni Pintorno from Petralia Soprana, dating back to 1633; the marble statue of Santa Maria La Bianca, dating back to the end of the 15th century, artistically linked to Gagini.
The adjoining convent has undergone numerous functional alterations over the centuries. Today it is used as a school building.
