Church of the Most Holy Crucifix in Calatabiano
The Church of the Holy Crucifix in Calatabiano was built in 1484 by Giovanni Cruyllas II, in late Gothic style and is located along the road leading to the Castle. It is also known as Church of San Filippo both because it preserves the ancient simulacrum of the Holy Syriac, placed there during the domination of Ferdinando Gravina, and because it is the starting point of the traditional "Calata" during the feast of San Filippo.
The church has a masonry structure and a sumptuous bell tower with merlons. Along the south side, the church has an ogival architraved portal in whitish limestone, a double arch orthogonal to the south wall of the building and two other sections of the wall arranged in the same way. On the façade, the other portal also has an ogival architrave, above which you can see a blind rose window and the Cruyllas family crest with the nine gold crosses on a blue background and a shield. This last portal is surmounted by an epigraph, difficult to interpret, which probably reports the construction date of the building and the name of Archbishop Eufemio
but to which a legend is also connected. Along the south side, the church has a beautiful ogival entrance portal, there are the insignia of the Crujllas, probable founders of the church. In the elegant frieze overlooking the ogive it is possible to recognize the date of its reconstruction (1484), together with the name of Archbishop Eufemio, probable promoter of the work.
