Duomo di San Gregorio Magno

The cathedral of the patron of the city is placed at the top of the town: imposing and harmonious.

It is one of the oldest and most representative churches of Vizzini, "both for its architecture and for the existing works of art, both for its dominant position at the center of the Castello hill, the first urban nucleus of ancient Bidi". The certain epoch of its foundation is ignored. The Mother Church has two elevations with different architectural styles: to the west the baroque with the lava stone steps; to the south the gothic with its magnificent portal full of sculptures, reliefs and columns; on the left side of this the date 1539 is engraved. The windows that open on this side of the church are surmounted by pointed arches. The wall of the midday facade was the ancient façade of the court house. Four pieces of carving come out of this factory in the shape of arms and hands to hold something. The different orders and architectural styles suggest that the Church was built and restored at different times. The west facade, in Baroque-Catalan style and the bell tower, were rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake. It is interesting a piece of marble sculpted in the shape of an owl to the left on the capital of the door, while on the right there is the throne, which is added in 1539 when the Church was established. The bell tower, built to the south-east of the church, looks like a massive tower composed of two orders: in the first one with a carving stone, which supports the trabeation on which the bell cell rests, there is a large clock and a coat of arms papal; the second order is characterized by the bell cell with large full arch windows, decorated with other coats of arms and four pilasters with capitals, which support the lowered spire with a lowered bulb. Inside the church there are valuable works of art: from decorated chapels, to ancient and modern wooden statues, to oil paintings by famous painters, to precious marble altars. The Church has three naves divided by two rows of pointed arches, which rest on octagonal pillars with residual Renaissance frescoes. Adorning the Church four chapels: SS. Sacrament, Jesus at the column, Baptistery, S. Biagio. In the Chapel of the Sacrament, there is an artistic rectangular chapel, with two double advanced columns: one fluted, with a branch of ivy twisted along its length, the other with artistic golden friezes. Both are surmounted by two equal capitals. At the windowsill is a woven gate, a work of the mid-fifteenth century. of great artistic value. On the right of the apse there is the chapel of the Jesus at the column, rich in relief golden decorations, inside which is located in a niche, the wooden statue of Christ tied to the chiselled silver column. To the right of the main door there is the Baptistery, within a portal of white stone worked, pink, with two columns covered with friezes, on the bases carved with figures, mixed arches, and on the capitals two artistic statuettes of saints. At the center is the baptismal font, with and its base of white veined brown marble, polished and half interned in a conch concave. The Baptistery is very ancient, perhaps dating back to the first creation of the church. However it is more appropriate to consider it in Baroque style and to accept the date of 1616 as that of construction.

Seen only from the outside ... but well kept .... interesting the series of pointed arches for each entry ... denotes an ancient and precious style at the same time ....

A beautiful church and the name of the Church and the patron of the city of San Gregorio Magno VIZZINI

Very beautiful