Santa Maria delle Stelle (Holy Mary of the Stars) 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 ...

mother church of 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, was built in the 15th century near the Fountain of Diana. Rebuilt in the 15th century, it was again razed by the 1693 Sicily earthquake. It was quickly rebuilt using designs by

Rosario Gagliardi Rosario Gagliardi (1698–1762) was an Italian architect born in Syracuse. He was one of the leading architects working in the Sicilian Baroque. In spite of never leaving Sicily his work showed great understanding of the style, but was a progressio ...

under the patronage of Count Baldassarre V, and consecrated in 1699. The central portal has a plaque spelling ''Mater Ecclesia'' (Mother Church). The three-story white stone

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 ...

facade is rich in pilasters, and the second story has four statues of saints. The center belltower is surmounted by an onion dome. The sculptor E. Lucenti played a role in its decoration. 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 1699 {{Italy-RC-church-stub