Mother Church of the Immaculate Conception of Santa Caterina Villarmosa

The Mother Church of the Immaculate Conception of Santa Caterina Villarmosa, in the province of Caltanissetta, dates back to the first half of the 700th century and is counted among the most fascinating religious buildings in all of Sicily due to the elegance and simplicity of its architecture.

History of the Mother Church of Santa Caterina Villarmosa

The history of the Mother Church of Santa Caterina Villarmosa starts from an ancient one legend which is handed down orally according to which the population of the rural center, oppressed and exhausted by the cruel oppression of the Viceroy Caracciolo, vowed not to take food every Saturday and to build a church dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, if they were freed from the heavy yoke of tyranny .

Against the local squire, it is said that the villagers had the audacity to even bring a lawsuit and when they had obtained, unexpectedly, favorable ruling , in 1779, they taxed themselves to raise the funds necessary for the construction of the cult building which was then named after the Immaculate Virgin as a sign of thanksgiving and devotion.

Sources do not agree on the exact start date of construction work on the Mother Church. The historian Guarnieri, in fact, in a text entitled "St. Catherine under feudalism" narrates that the construction of the building began in 1717 and ended in 1749. In reality, an engraving on the main portal bears an end date work postponed, 1779.

A priest of the time, F. Federico, declares in his "The ecclesiastical history of S. Caterina" that he has traced documents that would have certified the opening of the church for worship in 1784.
Other texts describe the donation by Baron Grimaldi of a splendid baptismal font in 1779. The sources, which differ on the dates, agree, however, on one point: the decisive impulse for the construction is to be ascribed to the first parish priest of Santa Caterina, the Reverend Taschetta.

Mother Church of the Immaculate Conception of Santa Caterina Villarmosa: architecture and works of art

The external appearance of the Mother Church of Santa Caterina Villarmosa is very particular: made with the classic Syracusan stone , the building stands out, in fact, for the candor that makes it extremely suggestive .

The original and actually realized project included a single nave in the shape of a Latin cross with a large chapel. Subsequently, given the increase in the inhabitants of the urban center, they began extension works with the construction of two other aisles placed on the sides of the central one.

Inside you can admire frescoes depicting biblical scenes (Joseph and his brothers, King Solomon portrayed in the act of judging, Esther and Aussero), works dating back to the early 1800s by the well-known painter Saverio Marchese. There Dome it is decorated with four lunettes embellished with depictions of the evangelists, beautiful paintings by Vincenzo Platania Martinex dated 1828.

Other paintings in the Mother Church are the work of Pietro Antonino Guastaferro who was born in Santa Caterina Villarmosa. Among these, the canvases depicting San Francesco di Paola and the Immaculate Conception stand out.
Worth mentioning is "U pulpitu" by Chiaramonte da Castrogiovanni (1858).

The Mother Church of the Immaculate Conception of Santa Caterina Villarmosa houses the statue of the patron saint Santa Caterina celebrated every year, with a sumptuous party, on September 25th.

Mother Church of Santa Caterina Villarmosa: what to do nearby

Santa Caterina Villarmosa is located in a splendid natural setting: hills and plowed fields in spring and summer are colored by the green of the meadows and the yellow of the wheat; wonderful brooms and splendid acacia and almond trees contribute to the extraordinary beauty of the landscape, suitable for long and relaxing walks.

Il artistic heritage and cultural heritage of the place finds its foundation in the many churches, buildings of value for history and architecture. In addition to the Mother Church, located in Piazza Garibaldi, we remember: the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie from the 600s which houses a precious collection of silver and gold and the Church of Purgatorio, also from the 1600s, inside which admire a precious "crystal" altar from the mid-nineteenth century.

Nearby you can also visit an important archaeological site: Cozzo Excavation .

In the first week of September, near a small country church, not far from the centre, a highly original event takes place in Santa Caterina Villarmosa rural festival dedicated to the Madonna della Provvidenza with games and skill tests.

How to get to the Mother Church of the Immaculate Conception of Santa Caterina Villarmosa

The Mother Church is located exactly in the center of Santa Caterina Villarmosa, precisely in Piazza G. Garibaldi .

In auto , from Caltanissetta, the small town can be reached comfortably in about half an hour along the SS 122 bis or, alternatively, the SP 44: in both cases, the distance is just under 20 kilometres.
There are two possible exits from the A19 Palermo-Catania motorway: Ponte Cinque Archi (about eight kilometers away) and Caltanissetta (about ten kilometers away).

If you prefer to arrive in train , the station to refer to is always that of Caltanissetta: from here, it is possible to reach Santa Caterina Villarmosa by bus.