ART

click to enlarge

Mother Church

Vara

Madonna di Trapani Chapel

It isn't by chance that Bisacquino artistic heritage lies above all in its churches. Steeples towering the town landscape, small shrines decorating the house walls testify, in fact, people's great devotion. In Bisacquino, in the past, churches represented  the heart of the religious and social life of the town quarters which were called after them. Once they were sixteen, now their number is reduced, but the so called "Matrice" ( Mother Church ) remains as the most important and largest church in the town. It is located in the main square and its towering classic styled dome can be seen from everywhere. It has three naves and a basilica plan and its facade can be considered the best example of baroque style in Palermo hinterland. The steeple, shorter than the new facade, is what remains of the old building. Inside the church you can see: stucco works by Serpotta's school - or by Messina's school, according some other critics' opinion - "la Madonna del Paradiso", a painting by Martorana (1717); a wood canopy called "Vara", carven by Bellacera (1772), an artist from Bisacquino, which is carried in procession on May 3^rd; a golden sedan chair ( dated 1700 ), painted with scenes from the Bible and used in the past to take the Holy Communion to the sick; an urn where dead Jesus lies, made by craftsmen from Bisacquino.

Other churches worth visiting are:

S. Francesco di Assisi - Built in 1591, it is remarkable for its triangular shaped steeple covered with little colourful maiolica ashlars. It is one of the few of that kind in Italy.

Maria SS. Delle Grazie - It has also a steeple of the kind above mentioned, but its shape is circular.Another example is the one of Madonna del Balzo Sanctuary.

Madonna di Trapani chapel - it was built in 1886 by Alberto Guarino , an artist from Bisacquino who made also the little terracotta Madonna on the top of the chapel.

At last small shrines can be seen on the  house walls of the town. The most precious of them is the one in Via Del Giorgio. It was made with maiolica tiles by an artist from Naples in 1792 : Gioacchino Mariotti