Church of Saint Anthony

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The church, located in Piazza Sant’Antonio, has been privately commissioned since its origins.

Chiesa di Sant'Antonio

Built after the foundation of the town, it was inaugurated on January 17, 1604, the feast day of Saint Anthony Abbot. In 1736 it is recorded that funds were being collected for the construction of a new church, although in the same document there is also mention of repairs to the existing building. The works were overseen by Giovanni Garallo, who acted as procurator and patron. 

The new construction, in carved stone, consisted of a single nave with a semicircular apse. The year 1759, inscribed on a cartouche above a window of the presbytery, marks the completion of the stuccoes. By 1763, the works were nearly finished, as shown by the request made by the procurator for the concession of burial rights in recognition of his services, stating that the church was already close to completion. In 1922 the 18th-century bell tower was redesigned in the section of the belfry by the Rosselli brothers of Favara.

The exterior of the church resembles other churches in Delia, with a gabled façade framed by giant Tuscan pilasters and an architrave, and a portal surmounted by a niche (now empty) topped with an oculus. The side of the church facing Corso Umberto I is characterized by a doorway and three upper windows. The apse, with the main altar, is connected to the choir’s pillars by a wooden structure. The interior of the church, in late Baroque style, features 18th-century wooden altars, three of which are baldachin-type with twisted columns. Of notable craftsmanship are the statues of Saint Anthony Abbot, Saint Francis of Paola, the Immaculate Conception, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Saint Blaise, and the Crucifix. Inside the church there is a crypt with lateral niches. It is the only church in Delia whose façade faces east, towards the Mother Church, the spiritual center of the community.

On March 13, 1926, next to the church and with its main entrance opening onto the same square, the Convent of Saint Anthony was built. Covering approximately 1,600 square meters over three floors, it became an institute for the education of children and now also houses a kindergarten.

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