Mother Church of Sortino

Sortino is a town of just over 8 inhabitants located in the Province of Syracuse and among its many artistic, cultural and landscape beauties stands out the Mother Church of San Giovanni Apostolo ed Evangelista.

The mother church in Sortino

La Mother Church in Sortino it is a splendid example of a work of art in Baroque Sicilian. It unquestionably represents the main place of worship of the community even if slightly more decentralized than the historical centre.
Its majestic facade is immediately striking, completely in Baroque style with many decorative elements that guarantee an almost scenographic impact.
The structure is divided into three classic naves delimited by Corinthian-style columns while on the outside you can appreciate the statue of San Giovanni and a huge central portal flanked by twisted columns.
The facade, whose shape is rectangular, has a bell tower in the highest part divided into three elements to highlight as many bells. Furthermore, the façade is divided into three orders, of which the central one has statues representing Moses and Elijah respectively on the two sides corresponding to the two lateral naves.

The beauty of the inside

The internal part develops with three naves of which the central one is more important and characterized by an apse in which you can appreciate the choir made entirely of wood and above all the canvas representing the Apocalypse of St. John the Evangelist. The canvas was created by the painter Giuseppe Cristadoro in 1777 who, moreover, also took care of the fresco on the vault of the central nave.

There are several works of art that are worth admiring including the paintings positioned at the side altars among which a work by the famous painter Vito D'Anna stands out and above all the Annunciation of the Virgin which, according to some historians, could dating back to the mid-sixteenth century and the work of an exponent of the Antonelli school.

What to see in Sortino

On the territory of the town of Sortino it is possible to see various historical monuments of interest in addition to the aforementioned Mother Church dedicated to San Giovanni Apostolo ed Evangelista.

Also in Baroque and the Church of Santa Sofia Virgin and Martyr which, however, has a facade that has a more trapezoidal shape rather than a rectangular one. There are also many other examples of Baroque-style religious structures such as the Church of the Souls of Purgatory, That of San Sebastiano, Church dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, Church of S. Antonio with its convent of the Collegine Sisters and the Convent of the Capuchins.

The latter is a building built in 1556 and almost completely destroyed during the terrible earthquake of 1693. It was later rebuilt assuming its current form thanks to the important contribution of rich noble families such as the Gaetani. Its shapes and decorations are very simple as it perfectly embodies the canons of San Francesco and the Franciscan order. To underline the beauty of the main altarpiece whose construction should date back to the eighteenth century and the marble statue depicting St. Anthony of Padua created instead in 1527.

Finally, there are also interesting ideas for history buffs with the site Pantalica which is a naturalistic and archaeological location that tells a lot about the events that have characterized this area over the centuries.

How to get to Sortino

To reach by car the municipality of Sortino starting from Palermo it is necessary to cover a distance of 260 km via the A19 and the E392 for a total of 3 hours and 40 minutes of travel. Starting from Messina, on the other hand, the journey is 150 km for almost 2 hours of travel along the A18 motorway and the E45.
Finally, from Catania there are 57 km for a 50-minute journey that includes the passage on the E45.

© Image by Liquid nitrogen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons