Chiesa Madre (Erice)
The Chiesa Madre ( main church ) of Erice on the western edge of the small town near Porta Trapani with the patronage of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary ( Maria Santissima Assunta ) is also called Duomo dell'Assunta as the main church of the town.
history
The church was built in 1312 under King Frederick II (III) using material from a pagan temple that originally existed there and was dedicated to Venus Ericina . Venus Ericina is the goddess of impure love, i.e. the prostitute. Compared to the current structure, however, this church was only the first small sacred building that was restored, modernized and enlarged several times. The church threatened to collapse several times, which actually happened in autumn 1853. It was immediately rebuilt under Dean Don Giuseppe Augugliaro. The rebuilding of the central nave was done in the style of the neo-Gothic of that time .
A large church district, the Agro Ericino, was ruled from this Church of Our Lady. It consisted of more than 20 new parishes within the parishes of Erice, Valderice , Custonaci , Buseto Palizzolo and San Vito Lo Capo and in 1930 still had more than 20,000 inhabitants, almost exclusively Catholic. Today the Mother of God Church is only a parish church for about 250 residents. Every year it is visited by hundreds of thousands of believers and tourists.
architecture
On the outside, the building shows a very defensive style with massive limestone blocks and striking battlements above the cornice . This creates a uniform effect with a characterful, unique and monumental portico and free-standing, square bell tower. The church is in the Chiaramont style. The only access to the building is through the west portal, which is designed in the form of a double ring with oval teeth.
Above the entrance, the facade is characterized by a small veranda that was placed in front of the actual portal. This porch is reminiscent of an old well house. It was built in 1426 by Archpriest Bernard Militari to allow penitents who were not admitted to the church before the end of canonical punishment to attend Mass. The large rose window from the 1950s was modeled on the church of Sant'Agostino in Trapani . There are two small windows on either side of the central rose window.
The north side has the appearance of a secular building in which the church is fully integrated. There are flag bearers on the roof of the building. On the east side there is a small altar with the stone cross for the rite of the blessing of the palm trees at the beginning of Holy Week .
The neo-Gothic three-aisled interior dates mainly from the 19th century. The vault is supported and subdivided with tracery . The side aisles have further altars and chapels of different ages.
The special feature of the church, which creates a spatial and monumental impression, is the clever architecture with a double transept . The cross vault of the central nave is not interrupted, as usual, but cleverly connected to the cross ribs of the transept vault, so that the impression of a longer nave emerges from the entrance. This apparent size of the room is supported by slim pillars in the central nave, which narrow in perspective. The vault appears to be adorned with lace .
Furnishing
The wooden choir stalls are from 1815. The marble retable on the high altar is the work of Giuliano Mancino from 1513 and depicts Jesus with the twelve apostles and some of the church fathers. In the center of the five-axis work, the Virgin Mary “ Tenda dell'alleanza ” sits on a throne with the child in her arms, crowned by a tabernacle . On the right side of the Virgin Mary are Peter and John the Baptist, on the left side are Paul and John. Above there are panels with scenes from the Passion of Christ and at the top those of the Resurrection. To crown the work four figures of the prophets and the tympanum shows the birth of Jesus. Under the high altar made of white Carrara marble by the sculptor Benedetto De Lisi from Palermo , which was completed in 1906, are the relics of the famous martyr San Benigno .
On the door to the left wall, with the so-called Angelo Musico , there is a fresco from the 15th century, a work by Giovanni Russi , which has remained as a fragment of the medieval church. A bronze door dates from 1683, the organ in the right aisle from 1895.
Bell tower
The bell tower is a separate structure and was used as a watchtower at the end of the 3rd century BC. . AD at the time of the Punic Wars built. Frederick II of Aragon, king and founder of the church, who spent several years in exile in Erice, which was besieged by enemy troops, enlarged it into a bell tower. The entrance is on the ground floor from the side of the church. The total height is 28 meters, which visitors can reach after 108 steps on a small platform.
Web links
- Palermoweb.com detailed building description (ital.)
Coordinates: 38 ° 2 ′ 11 ″ N , 12 ° 35 ′ 1 ″ E