Church of Immaculate Conception in Savoca
The Church of the Immaculate Conception of Savoca is today the philharmonic center of the village.
It was built in 1621 by the Conventual Friars Minor who had a convent in the immediate vicinity. The church was originally dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua but the people have always referred to it with the name of Church of the Immaculate Conception. Until 1940 it was open for worship, then it fell into disrepair. Following an important restoration project, the church was used as a municipal Philharmonic Centre. During the works, the tombs of the friars of the convent were brought to light beneath the floor.
Some valuable works, such as a canvas of the Immaculate Conception by Gaspare Camarda from 1623, were placed in the nearby church of San Nicolò, where they can still be admired today.
This church also housed the tombs of the wealthy local families of the Trimarchi, the Nicotina and the Cacòpardo, dating back to the early 18th century, embellished with valuable marble coats of arms and preserved today in the museum historical and ethnoanthropological of Savoca.
