In 1669, when Mount Etna devastated Nicolosi, a small 16th-century chapel dedicated to the Madonna delle Grazie was the town's only religious site to escape damage. It provided shelter for the sacred vestments and the Blessed Sacrament rescued from the ruined mother church. That original chapel was demolished at the end of the 19th century to build the current parish church.
What to see
Laid out by local artisans, the church interior is distinguished by its light-filled space. The most notable work is a early 17th-century polychrome wooden statue of Saint Anthony Abbot, depicting the saint seated in formal abbatial vestments with a dark, hollowed face reflecting his African origins and ascetic life. The church also preserves an 18th-century wooden statue of the Madonna delle Grazie, an altar to Christ at the Column with a wooden figure pre-dating 1669, and an altar dedicated to Saint Blaise featuring a late 17th or early 18th-century canvas of his martyrdom.
Our editors' tip
Take time to examine the statue of Saint Anthony Abbot: its departure from traditional iconography, both in the formal robes and the realistic facial features, makes it a remarkable historical piece.
