Church of S. Antonio Abate

The church already existed in the ancient site of Giarratana "Torrevecchia", it is already documented in the fourteenth century as a "sacramental church" and in it the Madonna della Neve was venerated, who was proclaimed in 1644 "main patroness of civitas“, But for some time now she has been invoked as protector of the lands and inhabitants of Giarratana. Destroyed together with the ancient town following the earthquake of 1693, it was rebuilt in the highest part of the town "u Cuozzu" in 1748 and consecrated in 1783.    The baroque style facade dominates the current town. It is divided into three orders decorated with semi-columns, the upper used as a belfry (tower facade). On the main door stands a double-headed eagle in asphaltic stone with the inscription “Prima Basilica”. In the second order there is a large window with mosaic glass, depicting Sant'Antonio and the Madonna della Neve, while on the sides there are the statues of St Francis of Paula and Saint Anthony of Padua, the work of the Musket. In the belfry, the main bell, dating back to 1647, comes from the ancient church and bears a Latin engraving dedicated to the Madonna della Neve The interior is divided into three naves, decorated with gilded stuccos in the central nave and in the chapels of the Blessed Sacrament, of the Addolorata and of Sant'Antonio, the stuccos, made between 1880 and 1890 are attributed to Luigi Sensale. The floor of the central nave features a rare alternation of asphaltic stone and majolica tiles from the late eighteenth century. In asphaltic stone there are also two stoups built in the nineteenth century. The chapel of the Addolorata is a destination for visits during the period of Lent, in fact, near the Holy Week the "Settina" is celebrated at the Madonna dei Dolori On the main altar there is the chapel that houses the sixteenth-century statue of the Madonna della Neve, coming from the ancient town, together with its eighteenth-century golden canopy, in classical Baroque style. In the presbytery the choir in carved wood houses the presbytery throne, in carved wood and gilded silver. Inside the church the bodies of illustrious citizens are kept and some members of important families of the town are buried in the basement of the building. In the church there are also:

• a canvas by the Ragazzi (San Francesco di Paola and San Corrado), in the left aisle next to the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament;
• a statue of St. Anthony of 1626, coming from the church destroyed by the earthquake;
• a canvas with Glory or ecstasy of Saint Anthony perhaps attributable to the school of Novelli, from the first half of the seventeenth century;
• painted with the Our Lady of the Snows by the priest Gaetano Distefano, from 1865, placed above the entrance to the sacristy, at the end of the right aisle;
• canvas with Martyrdom of St. Stephen, attributed to Mauri, in the left aisle;
• statue of the Madonna Assumed into Heaven from 1904, by Giuliano da Palazzolo Acreide