Church of the Jesuit College - Alcamo

Construction of the church began in 1684 but it was not until July 29, 1764 that the church was inaugurated with a solemn ceremony and in 1767 its construction was completed with stucco, making the construction last a total of 80 years. The inhabitants of Alcamo called it " the church of plaster ".

The facade of the church dominates Piazza Ciullo . It is in Baroque style and is enriched with pilasters with capitals in Doric - Tuscan and Ionic style . On this facade, five niches have been created that contain (from bottom to top) the statues of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Saint Francis Xavier, the Madonna dei Miracoli (patron saint of the city of Alcamo) and the archangels Michael and Raphael.

Above the central balcony, a remote-controlled pendulum clock was installed in 1989 to replace an older clock that previously adorned the bell tower of Alcamo's mother church and which is now no longer functional. On the sides there are two bell towers with triangular spiers. In the bell tower there are three bells with the names 'Saint Ignatius of Loyola', 'Saint Francis Xavier' and 'Sacred Heart of Jesus Monstrance'. On top of the facade is a marble crown in memory of the Spanish rule in Sicily.

Access to the church is through a main entrance on Piazza Ciullo with a stone staircase, called " pietra di li Carrubbazzi " by the inhabitants of Alcamo. The dome was built in its current form in 1962. On the main altar hangs a painting from 1797 by the Alcamo painter Giuseppe Renda, entitled The Circumcision of Jesus. The altar is illuminated from above by stained glass windows .

Below the main altar is a marble reliquary. The round basin of the holy water trough was decorated with streamers and contained four angel heads, of which only one still exists.

Inside are kept the remains of Father Vincenzo Abbati (died 1654), who built the former Jesuit College, the Church of the Holy Family and the cloister of the Church of Santa Maria dell'Itria in Alcamo.

There are four chapels.

Willem Vandenameele