The little church of Sant'Anna lies on the southern edge of Alcamo, in the Sant'Anna district at the foot of Monte Bonifato. According to the historian Ignazio De Blasi it was built on land of the Triolo family, who took their title of barons of Sant'Anna from here: the family came from Trapani, and the first to settle in Alcamo was Vito Triolo, a wealthy leather merchant who died in 1611. The first record of the chapel is a notarial deed of 15 November 1582; on 15 January 1653 Baron Francesco Triolo obtained from Pope Innocent X permission to turn it into a church and enlarge it, when its roof had been down for years.
What to see
The church was rebuilt after 1845. Buried here are the brothers Stefano and Giuseppe Triolo, patriots of the uprisings of 1848 and 1860: with their brother Benedetto, according to historians and documents of the time, they supported Italian unification through conspiracy and large financial help. An inventory of 1880, signed by the baron, listed portraits of the archpriest and the canon Triolo and an image of the Holy Family.
In 1954 the council had to wall up the entrance because of its severe neglect: even the marble tombstones had been taken from the graves. In 1960 the owners granted the council its use on condition that it restored the church and made the tombs accessible; the committee for the centenary of Italian unity had it restored and set two plaques with inscriptions by Don Tommaso Papa in the wall, and three more in the floor with the names of Benedetto, Stefano and Giuseppe.
Visiting
In the eighties the Salesians used it for services for the district; today it is used by the Divine Mercy group of the Gesù Cristo Redentore parish. Openings should be checked with the parish.
Our editors' tip
To follow the Triolo story further, go on to Alcamo's town hall: on its façade two plaques of 1910 recall the brothers' exploit and the revolt of 6 April 1860.
