Mother Church in Villalba

The small village of Villalbain province of Caltanissetta, chose many years ago as patron and protector of all its inhabitants San Giuseppe, to which the population has always been very attached.
Precisely for this reason, at the end of the nineteenth century the authorities of the village decided to dedicate a church to the patron saint which must have been of great beauty and which is still the meeting place of many faithful today.

Here, then, is everything you need to know about Mother Church in Villalba and what you shouldn't miss during your visit.

History of the Mother Church of San Giuseppe in Villalba

In 1828, and precisely on 4 May, the Decurionate of Villalba decided to allocate funds for the construction of a church of imposing beauty which was to rise in the center of the village, what is now Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, to be dedicated to San Giuseppe, patron of the village and much loved by its faithful devotees.
The sum made available for this operation, however, turned out to be insufficient for the project that had been decided to carry out, so the direct intervention of the population was requested. Some, the wealthiest, contributed money; others, however, not being able to participate financially, decided to work for free on the construction of the church, making their skills available.
Precisely for this reason, the Mother Church of San Giuseppe in Villalba is considered the church of all the faithful who physically took part in its creation.

The architecture and any works of art present in the Mother Church in Villalba

From an architectural point of view, the Mother Church of San Giuseppe in Villalba is presented in romantic style, with an external façade of two orders, both made of carved local stone.

At the center of the facade stands a rectangular portal which is flanked by fake columns which are actually carved in relief directly on the facade. The external part is also characterized, on one of the two sides, by a very high ceiling Bell tower which in turn is decorated with brackets and arched and slotted windows of the same type. At the top of this tower, in addition to the bells, there is a beautiful mechanical clock.

Internally, however, the church has a single nave and has a very simple style but there are some works of art that are truly not to be missed. Among these, a statue of the patron saint stands out, created in eighteenth-century style by the artist Filippo Quattrocchi who is a sculptor born in Gangi.

What is possible to do in the surroundings or inside the Mother Church in Villalba

Those who organize a trip to Villalba to admire the Mother Church of San Giuseppe can take advantage of the opportunity to discover other beauties that characterize this town in the province of Caltanissetta. For example, unmissable is the Le Serre nature reserve, also known by the name of Cozzo Pirtusiddu.

Fans of religious architecture, however, should not miss a visit to the Chapel of Calvary, also a fixed stage of the Via Crucis which is organized every year on the occasion of Holy Easter.

Finally there is the Church of the Conception, which is an older architectural structure than the Mother Church of San Giuseppe in Villalba as it was built in 1795 and is considered the second Mother Church of the Sicilian village.

How is it possible to get to Villalba

The best way to get to Villalba and see the Mother Church of San Giuseppe is to use the driving feel, given that the village is well connected with various cities in Sicily.
From Palermo, for example, it is possible to simply take the Ss121 to your destination while from Caltanissetta you must follow the SP42. For those coming from Catania, the reference road is the A19 while from Messina it is possible to follow the A18 or the A19 and then the E932.

Villalba also has its own train station which is located along the line that connects Caltanissetta to Palermo, so it can be very simple to reach it even with the train or with the lines of bus numbers premises that are made available by the public company AST.