Chiesa Maria SS.Assunta di Castelbuono.
Sicily.
Late spring break.
The church of Matrice Vecchia was built in the 15th century on the ruins of a pagan temple. It has a Renaissance portico added in the 16th century, and a central portal in the Catalan-Gothic style. On the left side is a bell-tower with a Romanesque mullioned window culminating in an octagonal spire covered with majolica tiles. The interior of the church, originally divided into a nave and two aisles, received another aisle at the end of the 16th century. It preserves prized works, most remarkably, above the main altar, a splendid polyptych depicting The Coronation of the Virgin , attributed to Pietro Ruzzolone or possibly Antonello de Saliba. On the bottom right is the unusual figure of a Saint wearing spectacles. On the right is a statue of the Madonna delle Grazie by Antonello Gagini. Below the nave is a fresco depicting the Betrothal of the Virgins showing a strong Senese influence in the elegant features and the symmetry of the composition. Some of the columns separating the nave and the aisles are painted with frescoes, including the figure of St. Catherine of Alexandria.
Chiesa Maria SS.Assunta di Castelbuono.
Sicily.
Late spring break.
The church of Matrice Vecchia was built in the 15th century on the ruins of a pagan temple. It has a Renaissance portico added in the 16th century, and a central portal in the Catalan-Gothic style. On the left side is a bell-tower with a Romanesque mullioned window culminating in an octagonal spire covered with majolica tiles. The interior of the church, originally divided into a nave and two aisles, received another aisle at the end of the 16th century. It preserves prized works, most remarkably, above the main altar, a splendid polyptych depicting The Coronation of the Virgin , attributed to Pietro Ruzzolone or possibly Antonello de Saliba. On the bottom right is the unusual figure of a Saint wearing spectacles. On the right is a statue of the Madonna delle Grazie by Antonello Gagini. Below the nave is a fresco depicting the Betrothal of the Virgins showing a strong Senese influence in the elegant features and the symmetry of the composition. Some of the columns separating the nave and the aisles are painted with frescoes, including the figure of St. Catherine of Alexandria.