Mother Church of San Rocco in Scordia

La Mother Church of San Rocco in Scordia is a religious complex located in the center of the town, in the main square. It is the main church and inside there is a parish dedicated to San Rocco. It presents a typical style Sicilian baroque which has been enriched over the centuries since its reconstruction began in the eighteenth century.

History of the Mother Church of San Rocco

In 1628 Prince Antonio Branciforte started the construction works for his palace and at the same time for the Mother Church of San Rocco. Being the only parish present in the entire town of Scordia, it was important for Branciforte to have some control over it, in fact he exercised the right of patronage over it reserving the right to designate the parish priest himself who would then be appointed by the bishop. In 1629 it came into use and they began to bury the dead, but unfortunately not long after, precisely in 1693, a great earthquake destroyed the city and the Church itself. The rebuilding work began based on the projects of Fra Michele della Ferla and already in 1712 the complex was reopened for worship. It was a very different structure from the one that is visible now, in fact the current shape and size are related to further modernization works that were undertaken between 1830 and 1867. In this period the wings of the Latin cross were added, the division between the three naves was created and the interior was embellished with stuccos, frescoes and altars surmounted by canvases. The outside retains the taste barocco of that time and is lightened by the use of bright local stones.

Works of art present in the Mother Church of San Rocco in Scordia

Being a very old building and one of the most important in the city, the Mother Church of San Rocco in Scordia it preserves important works of art and historical pieces of great importance among its naves. On the vault of the central nave you can appreciate a large canvas created in 1929 by Alessandro Abate from Catania which depicts San Rocco among the plague victims. Along the right aisle there is the altarpiece of the Madonna del Rosario which according to some is even the work of Caravaggio. In the Chapel of San Rocco the wooden fercolo from 1884 is preserved which, on the occasion of the centenary of the patronal feast in 1960, was completely covered with gold limine by some Catania masters of art. Inside the fercolo was housed the statue of the patron saint of Scordia, San Rocco, which is also made of wood and donated by the Branciforte family to the community several centuries ago. It was initially completely painted and covered in silver but sadly in 1977 the church suffered one of its many thefts and the original ornamentation was stolen. On the side of the Sacramento chapel we find another canvas whose origins are much discussed. In the center is a Madonna with Jesus blessing San Giovannino, next to it is Elizabeth and on the left we see a male character who could be Joseph. It is a very beautiful work even if it is not yet possible to define the author of the painting. The most accredited hypothesis is that it is the result of the work of an artist of the Raphael school given that in Malta, in the Cathedral of San Giovanni in Valletta, there is a canvas very similar to that of Scordia and also attributed to Raphael. The ancient wooden high altar is still visible inside the building, as is the pipe organ dating back to the 1800s. The vault of the presbytery is decorated with various frescoes including the Christ Rex Mundi created by the Militellese painter Giuseppe Barone.

What to do around the Mother Church of San Rocco

In front of the Mother Church of San Rocco in Scordia there is Square Umberto I, in the center we find a pedestal on which the limestone statue of San Rocco accompanied by his faithful dog has been placed, the work of the sculptor Nicolò Bagnasco. The monument was erected in 1813 when the island of Malta was plagued by the plague. Four Latin couplets were visible on the four sides, but now with the passage of time and due to erosion, they are almost no longer visible. Nearby it is possible to visit, just leaving the city, the Dragon Cave Park or Oxena waterfalls. Those who instead intend to continue their visit along the historic streets of the city will certainly appreciate the Chadra Castle or the Civic Ethno-Anthropological Museum.

How to get to the Mother Church of San Rocco in Scordia

Scordia can be reached from all over Sicily thanks to very efficient connections made by the Sicilian bus lines, even if in any case the easiest route to take is starting from Catania.
Those who arrive by car they will have to take the Catania ring road, take the last exit of the SS115 for Syracuse, pass the roundabout of the primosole bridge, take the SS194 Ragusana towards Palagonia, merge onto the SS385 and at the crossroads continue along the SP28 / I towards Scordia.

© Image by David Mauro, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons