Chiesa Madre - Sambuca di Sicilia

The Mother Church or Matrice di Sambuca di Sicilia is one of the most important monuments of the city. The construction of the church was financed in the first half of the 17th century by Donna Giulia, a marchioness, and her sister Maria.

The church occupies part of the ancient castle of Zabut and the whole of the primitive Church of Saint Peter the Apostle built around 1420. The building was severely damaged in the 1968 earthquake.

The building is rich in composite styles: the portal in rough Arab-Norman style certainly comes from one of the churches of the ruined Adragnus, while the entire decoration of the portal on the right facing Piazza Baldi Centellis is inspired by Renaissance motifs mixed with delicate baroque influences. The walls, columns, royal vaults and cyclopean cellars made of hard tuff stone give the temple a monastic rigor and harmony.

A special feature is the bell tower, carved from one of the defensive towers of the Saracen Castle, which culminates in a pyramidal spire covered with polychrome ceramic squares and supported by enormous acanthus leaves carved into the hard tuff. It is a unique piece of craftsmanship , for that time, in western Sicily.

The interior, in the shape of a Roman cross, has three naves divided by columns supporting round arches. At the point where the transept crosses the nave, the Renaissance-inspired dome rises.

Among the works of particular value are: a wooden triptych of the Crucifixion; a large wooden altarpiece depicting in bas-relief the 'Tree of Martyrs ' with relic fruits in place, dating from the 17th century; a cloth depicting the 'Three Crowned Saints' of the Novelli school; a holy water stump of the Gaginian school; and the large altarpiece of the main altar depicting the Assumption , inspired by Tintoretto.

Willem Vandenameele