What to see
The single-nave church features a side entrance through a southern chapel, where an embedded stone displays the date 1652. Inside, late 18th-century stucco work frames detailed wooden altars, including the walnut main altar structure crafted by Fra Felice and Fra Serafino of Acireale. Notable paintings include the 1794 Assumption of Mary with Saints Bonaventure of Bagnoregio and Francis of Assisi by Fedele da San Biagio, and a canvas by the priest Giovanni Russo depicting the Virgin handing the Christ Child to Saint Felix of Cantalice alongside Saints Clare, Anthony of Padua, Lawrence of Brindisi, and Bernard of Corleone. The nave also houses a smaller painting of the Ecstasy of Saint Francis, an anonymous Capuchin wooden tabernacle from 1715, an 18th-century polyptych depicting the Virgin, Saint John, two angels, and God the Father, and a carved wooden Crucifix from the first half of the 18th century. The sacristy serves as a cemetery chapel for local notables and clergy, preserving an 18th-century inlaid wooden wardrobe and a leather antependium featuring the Crucifixion. On the upper floor, twelve incunabula and rare 16th-century volumes from the original friary library are managed by the municipal library.
Visiting
Assigned to the Archdiocese of Messina-Lipari-Santa Lucia del Mela, the church stands inside the municipal cemetery established in 1872 on the friars' former grounds. It regularly holds religious services and contains tombs of clergy and local citizens.
Our editors' tip
On the southern exterior elevation, look for the small carved stone bearing the year 1652, which provides clear physical proof of the building's 17th-century origin.
