Santuario Madonna della Consolazione - Termini Imerese

In terms of layout, shape and decoration, the church is the city's most impressive baroque monument . The shrine was founded in 1553 after a miraculous event and went through several construction phases.

The origin of the building is said to be linked to a miraculous event in the early decades of 1500 when a young man in the Botteghelle district was cured of paralysis of the lower limbs. The healing was attributed to the oil of a lamp burning before the image of the Virgin, painted in a nearby chapel, which the young man's mother sprinkled on his ailing limbs.

The bustle of that event quickly made the site the destination of pilgrimages and votive offerings, enabling a shrine to be built in 1553 .

The exterior is dominated by the scenographic 18th century staircase, which consists of a first staircase with volute-shaped steps and an undulating balustrade connecting the two side staircases to the upper level of the church.

In the 17th century, the sanctuary was enlarged and arranged according to a three-nave basilica .

Inside, the forms of the architecture have been skilfully integrated with an extensive repertoire of sculptural forms, recognized as a remarkable expression of Sicilian baroque art.

In the nave are 12 apostles on trapezoidal medallions , on the entrance portal the Angel of Judgment , in the chapel, on either side of the miraculous statue, two allegorical statues of Justice and Mercy and on the vault God the Father.

The sacred and miraculous image of the Madonna is a work of art that deserves to be seen.

Willem Vandenameele