Chiesa Madre or "Mother Church" of Carlentini is a

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

-style,

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church located on via Via Roma #140, corner with via Garibaldi, in center of the town of

Carlentini Carlentini ( Sicilian: ''Carruntini'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily (Italy). It lies 45 km (28 mi) outside the provincial capital of Syracuse. The city's name has its origins in the neighboring town of ...

in the province of Syracuse, region of Sicily, Italy. The church is dedicated to the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

(''Immacolata Concezione'' in Italian).

Description

A church at this site was begun with the foundation of the town in 1551, under the patronage of the viceroy Giovanni De Vega, and completed by 1609. However, that structure was virtually razed by the

1693 Sicily earthquake The 1693 Sicily earthquake struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, Calabria, and Malta on January 11 at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on January 9. The main quake had an estimated magnitude of 7. ...

, and reconstruction proceeded slowly over the next centuries. The main façade, only completed in 1913, has peculiar

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

(Liberty style) decoration on the second story and oval niches for the statues on the first story. The interior has the traditional three naves divided by columns. The bell-tower was only completed in 1933. The present organ was donated by the Matarazzo family in 1941, to replace the prior 1742 organ. The interior is decorated with polychrome marble. The altar of the Holy Sacrament was frescoed (1804). The chapel of Santa Lucia, patron of the town was completed in 1831. It is decorated with the coat of arms of

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (Crown of Castile, Castil ...

, for whom the town was named. The central nave ceiling was frescoed with a representation of the ''Immaculate Conception with the Holy Trinity and St Michael Archangel. The church suffered some damage in the 1990 Carlentini earthquake, requiring repair.Parish web site

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madre Carlentini 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Churches in the province of Syracuse