Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

3 Minutes of reading

The Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the most decorated church in Delia and the one that preserves the greatest number of works of art inside.

Chiesa del Carmelo

The license required for the construction of the religious building and the monastery is dated February 24, 1601. According to the 1607 census, the church was already erected by that year. The construction of the monastery proceeded more slowly, and in fact, in 1612 the structure was still incomplete. This information comes from the baron of Delia himself, Don Gaspare Lucchese, who in his will reserved 200 onze for the completion of the Carmelite convent. Like all other religious buildings in Delia, the Carmelo underwent significant reconstruction works during the 18th century, as reported in the pastoral visitation of 1737: it was rebuilt in 1727 but never consecrated. Structural problems affected, in particular, the façade and the bell tower. In 1742, the upper part of the bell tower was demolished, and in 1773 it was entirely rebuilt. Starting in 1872, works that lasted about a decade once again reconstructed the façade. Finally, in 1930, the last documented works redesigned the bell tower once more, giving it its current appearance.

The interior of the sacred building is rich in stuccoes, frescoes, and works of art. The artist who most contributed to embellishing the church was Antonio Capizzi of Racalmuto. Today, two canvases signed by him remain in the church: Our Lady of Mercy and Saint Paschal Baylon (1731). Among the stuccoes of the main arch, until 1970 - when reconstruction of the roof and restoration of the vault began - next to the fresco of the Nativity of Mary there was an inscription: “[...] Antonius Capizzi Racalmutensis [...] Anno Salutis 1731.” Unfortunately, during those works the plaster containing the inscription was irreparably destroyed. The lost signature confirms that Capizzi was also the author of the frescoes and probably of the stuccoes in the apse and perhaps of those along the nave walls, where depictions of Saint Peter, Saint John, Saint Angelus of Licata, Saint Michael, Saint Luke, and Saint Paul can be seen. Worthy of note are two large 18th-century carved wooden frames bearing the coat of arms of the Prince of Palagonia, Marquis of Delia. Finally, completing the list of artworks are two canvases: one dedicated to Saint Anne by Domenico Provenzani, dating from the early 1730s, and The Pietà by Francesco Guadagnino, painted in 1784.

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