San Pietro e Santa Maria Maggiore, Calascibetta

The first church of Santa Maria Maggiore was built by 1340 atop the ruins of a castle under the patronage of King Peter II of Aragon. Two years later it was named a Royal Palatine Chapel. Refurbished over the centuries, it has a basilica layout with a central nave and two aisles. The facade is simple, articulated with stone pilasters, and the center bell tower linked to aisles by volutes. Along the nave, Romanesque-style sculpted figures decorate the bases of the columns, including sphinxes and hawks. The arches have an ogival Gothic-style.^[1] The interior contains a marble ciborium by the school of the Gagini. Some of the altarpieces are by the early 17th-century painter Gianforte La Manna.

37.°N 14.°E / 37°N 14°E / 37; 14