Chiesa di Maria Santissima Annuziata (Church of the Holiest Mary of the Annunciation) is a

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 ...

parish and minor basilica church located in the city of

Comiso Comiso ( scn, U Còmisu), is a comune of the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. As of 2017, its population was 29,857. History In the past Comiso has been incorrectly identified with the ancient Greek colony of Casmene. Under the Byza ...

, in the province of Ragusa, Italy. The church is dedicated to the

Marian devotion Marian devotions are external pious practices directed to the person of Mary, mother of God, by members of certain Christian traditions. They are performed in Catholicism, High Church Lutheranism, Anglo-Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Orien ...

of the

Virgin of the Annunciation Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

History

A church at this site, dedicated to San Nicola of Bari, was the original mother church of the town, and dated to prior than the mid-15th century, when the title was switched in 1480 to Santa Maria delle Stelle, because this parish, serving the local Greek population, persisted in using eastern Greek orthodox liturgy. This original church was 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. ...

. It was rebuilt by 1772 in the same site, but re-dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The design is attributed to Giovanni Battista Cascione Vaccarini, grandson of

Giovanni Battista Vaccarini Giovanni Battista Vaccarini (3 February 1702 – 11 March 1768) was a Sicilians, Sicilian architect, notable for his work in the Sicilian Baroque style in his homeland during the period of massive rebuilding following the 1693 Sicily earthquake, ea ...

. The elegant

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 ...

white stone facade has a two-story central nave linked with volutes to the aisles, each with doors decorated with bronze bas-reliefs. The superior tympanum has a crown and the monogram of ''Maria Annuziata''. The interior has altarpieces depicting: *''Assumption of Mary'' (1505) (signed “Guidinius Narcusius (xit)”) *''Presentation of Mary at the Temple'' (1545) by A. Lo Blanco *''An Annunciation'' (17th-century) attributed to

Carlo Dolci Carlo (or Carlino) Dolci (25 May 1616 – 17 January 1686) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Florence, known for highly finished religious pictures, often repeated in many versions. Biography He was born in Florence, ...

*''Prayer of St John'' (17th-century) by

Mario Minniti Mario Minniti (8 December 1577 – 22 November 1640) was an Italian artist active in Sicily after 1606. Born in Syracuse, Sicily, he arrived in Rome in 1593, where he became the friend, collaborator, and model of the key Baroque painter Mic ...

*''San Gaetano Thiene'' (17th-century) by Vito D’Anna Additionally, there is a canvas depicting the ''Souls in Purgatory'' (1857) by the Vaccaro brothers. The frescoes of the apse and cupola (1887) were painted by C. La Leta and M. Sparavilla. A 17th-century crucifix is attributed to Frate . A stucco statuary group depicting the ''Mourning at the Deposition'' (1751) was made by S. Alessi. The Baptistery (1913) in white marble and bronze is by

Mario Rutelli Mario Rutelli (Palermo, Sicily, 4 April 1859 – 1941) was an Italian sculptor. Biography From a native British family which long ago moved from France to Italy (Rudelle at first), Mario's father Giovanni Rutelli was a prominent architect in ...

.Comune of Comiso
entry on church and other monuments.

References

Churches in the province of Ragusa Baroque architecture in Ragusa 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1772 {{Italy-RC-church-stub