Church of San Francesco di Paola in Castellana Sicula

La Church of San Francesco di Paola in Castellana Sicula it stands on an ancient fourteenth-century building and over the centuries has undergone various restoration interventions. The Church is a place of community meeting and prayer and is embellished with various seventeenth-century works.

The history of Castellana Sicula and the Church of San Francesco di Paola

Castellana Sicula is a village in the Madonie Park in the metropolitan area of ​​Palermo. The first stable settlement dates back to the first half of the XNUMXth century when King Philip V of Spain granted the ius populandi et aedificandi in the fiefdom to the Duke of Ferrandina. The duke pays homage to his wife Gemma who belongs to the noble Catalan family of Castellana by naming the settlement with his wife's surname and to populate the area, he encourages the migration of some farmers from nearby towns.

The village is linked to an agricultural economy and becomes a thriving center thanks to the presence of plains rich in water which favor the growth of olive groves, vineyards and orchards. The Castellana Sicula area already hosts the Church of San Francesco di Paola, a fourteenth-century building surrounded by vegetation which is a meeting place for the first inhabitants. Over the years, however, the structure suffered considerable damage and therefore in 1799 it was renovated and expanded, in the 2019s and in XNUMX further consolidation interventions were necessary.

The architecture and works of art inside the Mother Church of Castellana Sicula

The Church of San Francesco di Paola in Castellana Sicula has a medium-sized hall plan. On the main facade of the building there are two bell squared built in 1968 which are enriched by clocks.

The main entrance portal appears simple and essential while the side one has a mosaic created in 1973 which depicts the risen Christ with the Madonna on the right and San Francesco di Paola, Patron Saint of the town, on the left.

Inside there are ancient works of which the most interesting are the canvas of Santa Barbara and Sant'Antonio Abate, both attributed to Giuseppe Salerno, a seventeenth-century Sicilian artist known as the Zoppo di Gangi. Another example of Sicilian craftsmanship is a wooden altar from the 1600s, while a red marble stoup, the baptismal font carved out of a single block of stone and a canvas depicting the Madonna dell'Aiuto by an unknown artist are from the nineteenth century . In 1978 the Church was embellished with a copper panel representing the Baptism of Jesus.

What to see in Castellana Sicula and its surroundings

The village of Castellana Sicula hosts not only the Church of San Francesco di Paola, the Mother Church of the town, but also the Church of the Madonna della Catena which is located in the Frazzucchi district and the Church of St. Joseph. The building was rebuilt in 1909 on a pre-existing XNUMXth century structure and has an external niche which houses a plaster statue depicting the Madonna della Catena with baby Jesus, today a destination for pilgrimages of devotees.
The streets and squares of Castellana Sicula are embellished by murals colourful, works by Italian and foreign artists who, since 1994, have left their contribution on the walls of the city centre.
Il Civic museum in the Muratore district it is an unmissable destination to understand the origins of the village and its history. The exhibition in fact includes two sections, ethno-anthropological and archaeological, which contain finds from the rural culture linked to the local culture and some evidence from the Middle Ages, from the more ancient Late Imperial age and from the Hellenistic-Roman age found in the archaeological excavations of the area.
In fact, just outside the city walls there are the remains of the Roman villa and the private spa facility where archaeologists discovered the finds now kept in the museum.

How to reach the Church of San Francesco di Paola in Castellana Sicula

By car:, from Palermo take the E90 from via Roma and continue for 79,300km. Exit at Tremonzelli and follow the SS120 in the direction of the Church of San Francesco di Paola which is located in the square of the same name in Castellana Sicula.