Mother Church (Santa Maria delle Grazie)
On the largest square of the town, in the heart of the inhabited center, stands the Mother Church, the construction of which began in 1613.
The severe façade, probably executed on a design by Filippo Vasta, makes a balanced use of the two-tone tone resulting from the juxtaposition of the lava stone with that of sandstone. Of recent times is the white bell tower that stands out on Via Roma and built asymmetrically with respect to the whole building of the Church, because at its feet it incorporates a previous sacred building, albeit small, much earlier than the same date of the construction of the Church.
The interior of the Matrice is monumental and has three naves. The visitor, once inside, is welcomed into the sacred temple through the double style of the structure, the neoclassical, in the aisles, clear, linear and a little severe and the baroque of the transept, rich but contained, solemn but not self-referential.
A splendid image of the coffered ceiling, entirely in wood, with decorations, turns out to be a majestic work, born from the meticulous work of a linguaglossese craftsman
The area of the high altar is what primarily strikes the traveler because it is simply beautiful, where the beauty is evident from the harmonious and precious presence of the wooden choir and the pipe organ.
Behind the main altar opens the large monumental choir, carved with friezes, bas-reliefs and sculptures in the round recurring for the entire apse. Each back panel contains a wooden bas-relief with a scene from the life of Jesus. The work dates back to 1728. Meticulous in detail and grandiose overall, it rivals that of the Benedictine Church of Catania, the Cathedral of Piazza Armerina and those of other European cathedrals. Its authors were Giuseppe Turriti and Gioacchino Girelli from Catania, defined as choir masters, and Michele and Pietro Orlando from Trapani, collaborated by craftsmen from Linguaglossa and Castiglione.
On the left a view of the “CHORUS” of the Mother Church, lavishly carved in walnut and chestnut wood with friezes and figures in the round.
In the transept, at the top, there are two frescoes, to be restored, one depicting the exaltation of the Eucharist and the other Moses and the bronze serpent, attributed by Maganuco to the hand of Olivo Sozzi.
The Mother Church was dedicated to the Madonna, with the title of Santa Maria delle Grazie, as can be seen from the luminous panel painting by Salvatore Mignemi of 1756, placed on the high altar.
Above the wooden choir, housed on a wooden choir loft, is the "Giacomo Locatelli" organ of Bergamo from 1903. The façade façade hosts a total of 77 reeds, while behind the façade there are 168. Still on the façade there are floral decorations and the "Po" star.
The Temple, especially in the nineteenth century which is enriched with valuable paintings.
Domenico Provenzani's are the “San Filippo Neri and Sant'Ignazio di Lodola”, the “Resurrection of Lazarus” and the “San Biagio” (1880-83); by Angelo D'Agata "The Archangel Michael", the "Saints Peter and Paul", the "Martyrdom of San Ciro", the "San Gaetano di Thiene" (1877); by Salvatore Ferro is the Sant'Alfonso dei Liguori (1879); by Giuseppe Minutoli the “San Vincenzo Ferrer”, called the miracle of obedience, by Giuseppe Minutoli; by Antonino Bonaccorsi, known as “il chiara” due to the brightness of his works, given by the colors used, is the “Coronation of the Virgin”, dated 1875, located in the transept. A devotional work because it represents the miracle of Sant'Egidio Abate, patron saint of Linguaglossa, and the old one, located at the entrance, on the left aisle, is by Carmelo Tanasi from 1895. Some altars are embellished with statues: that of the Sacred Heart in the altar of the Sacrament, the other of the Crucifix, to the altar of the same name. The statue of the Madonna delle Grazie, of San Giuseppe and Sant'Antonio Abate, at the relative altars.
During the seventeenth, eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth century the painters Baldassarre Grasso, Vincenzo Tuccari, Francesco Mignemi, Salvatore Mignemi, Giuseppe Grasso worked for the Mother Church; the master carvers Pasquale Serafino, Giambattista Marletta, Leonardo Privitera and Giuseppe Fichera; the marble workers Giuliano Beritta, Tommaso D'Amato, Paolo Greco, Antonio Monaco, Giuseppe Biondo, Antonio Melita; the plasterers Giuseppe Catania and Placido Cimino, Michele Conti, Giacinto Ciria, Venerando Messina, Domenico and Salvatore Maugeri and many other artisans from the province of Catania and Messina.
The last artist present in Matrice with significant works, such as the precious bronze sculpture, depicting the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, and works by San Giovanni Battista, placed on the baptistery, is by Salvatore Incorpora (1920-2010). His are the colored terracotta, representing the twelve Apostles, placed on the twelve columns of the central nave.
It is noteworthy that the great twentieth century sculptor Francesco Messina, born in Linguaglossa on 15 December 1900 and died in Milan on 2 September 1995, was baptized in Matrice on 31 January 1901.
On the right side, near the apse, is the marble work “La Pietà” by Saro La Guzza, from Linguaglossa.
The parish archives are interesting, with registers dating back to the beginning of 1598 until today. The collection of sacred furnishings equates the Linguaglossa Matrix to a cathedral church. Illustrious personalities of the Matrix are the Archpriest Giovanni Maria Previtera who became bishop of Patti in 1888, born in Linguaglossa in 1844 and died in Piedimonte Eteno in 1909.
We have the marble bust of him donated by the Previtera-Puglisi-Principato family.
Carmelite Bishop Francesco Maria Raciti (1854-1932) bishop first of Lipari and then of Trapani. Father Carmelo Maria Pafumi, Carmelite, Father Francesco Spedaleri, jesus; Prof. Luigi Di Bella (1912-2003); the deputy to the Constituent Assembly and also deputy to the ARS, Attilio Castrogiovanni, born in 1908 and died in 1978, convinced and authoritative supporter of the Sicilian Independentist Movement. (Text source: https://comune.linguaglossa.ct.it/)
Card insertion: Ignazio Caloggero
Photo: Google
Information contributions: Ignazio Caloggero / Web
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