The patron saint of Barrafranca is Saint Alexander, celebrated on 3 May; the co-patroness is Mary Most Holy of the Star, celebrated on 8 September. The mother church, built in 1728 on the site of the earlier church of San Sebastiano, holds stuccowork by the Signorelli brothers and a holy water font bearing the coat of arms of the Barresi family. Nearby, the 15th-century church of Maria Santissima dell'Itria holds the Annunciation by Mattia Preti, the ancient painting of the Madonna dell'Odigitria and the wooden statue of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In Norman times the settlement was called Convicino and became a fief of the Barresi family around 1330; two hundred years later, in 1529, it took its current name of Barrafranca, derived partly from its founder, the Marquis Matteo III Barresi, and partly from the fact that the town was made «franca», that is exempt from certain taxes, to attract new inhabitants.
