Mother Church of Sant'Anna of Balestrate

La Mother Church of Balestrate it is a nineteenth-century building built with the financial help of the entire community. Inside it houses various works, some even from the eighteenth century which make the church very rich.

The history of the Mother Church of Balestrate

Balestrate it is a village located in the center of gulf of Castellammare at the foot of Mount Ferricini. Due to its geographical position it has always had an important strategic role in the defense of the territory.

In fact, the Byzantines built a first nucleus of houses in the area around a tower to protect the coast, but the town that the inhabitants called Sicciara became much larger with the Arab domination. In 1456 Alfonso the Magnanimous named the territory between the San Cataldo and Calatubo streams Balestrate, but it was only in 1820 that Ferdinand of Bourbon formally established the municipality of Balestrate.

In those years the area experienced a period of great economic development for the cultivation of olives and grapes. The rector Filippo Evola, a doctor and theologian from Balestrate, is an enterprising man and organizes a collection to raise the funds needed in the community for the construction of a new church dedicated to Sant'Anna.

The entire population is involved in the undertaking, some women carry the stones necessary for the foundations of the building, others donate what they have and it can be useful. The English entrepreneurs Woodhouse, engaged in the wine sector, founded the oldest Sicilian wine factory in those years and contributed to the construction with a donation so large that they were remembered with a plaque placed under the clock of the new church.

With the common effort, on 13 March 1842 the first stone was laid and on 21 September 1850 the works were completed and the Church of Sant'Anna it is consecrated and opened for worship.

The architecture and works of art of the Mother Church of Balestrate

The Mother Church of Balestrate has a Romanesque plan with two bell. The structure has three naves separated by columns with a square base and the two side naves are surmounted by cross vaults, while the central one and the choir have barrel vaults that support a large dome.
The original floor is in Carrara marble, but was replaced later because it was seriously damaged. The nineteenth-century stoups at the entrance to the church they are of excellent workmanship, but appear slightly different, probably their purchase took place at different times due to a temporary lack of funds.
Among the oldest paintings kept in the Church are the oil on canvas by an unknown artist from the late eighteenth century, "Holy Souls of Purgatory" and two nineteenth-century works depicting Saint Luigi Gonzaga and Saint Francis of Assisi. Of particular interest is the "Deposition of Christ" created by an unknown author between the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century. The left nave of the Mother Church houses a baptismal font in brown marble and on the pedestal you can see the inscription of "Sicciara 1800" which refers to the original name of the first nucleus of the town.
Many sacred furnishings such as chalices, incense burners and candelabras are a gift from the rector Filippo Evola and his brother Vincenzo, others are added over the years. The richest is a monstrance weighing 8 kilos in finely worked golden metal and with 23 bundles of rays.

What to see in Balestrate and the surrounding areas

The Mother Church of Balestrate is just one of the town's attractions. Walking through the streets of the village you can visit the Church of St. Peter which stands on the ancient ruins of a chapel around which the first community gathered to pray. The remains of the old village are very interesting tonnara built by the Fardella family, where it will be possible to enjoy a beautiful day at the seaside Balestrate beach. Not far from the town is the pilgrimage destination Sanctuary of the Madonna del Ponte, a building from 1430 dedicated to the Virgin. Tourists also appreciate a walk through the vineyards and cellars in the hinterland of Balestrate.

How to get to the Mother Church of Balestrate

By car:, from Palermo take the E90 from via Roma, after 50km take the Balestrate exit and continue on the SP17 towards via Monte Grappa where the Mother Church is located at n.58.

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