La Chiesa di San Giacomo Maggiore / Church of St. James the Greater (Ferla, Sicily)
N 37° 07.064 E 014° 56.448
33S E 494740 N 4107934
In a small, picturesque Sicilian town Ferla, which architectural face is influenced deeply by Baroque, you can find several interesting buildings in that style - one of them is Church of St. James the Greater (La Chiesa di San Giacomo Maggiore).
Waymark Code: WM8CAR
Location: Sicilia, Italy
Date Posted: 03/11/2010
Views: 7
In a small, picturesque Sicilian town Ferla, which architectural face is influenced deeply by Baroque, you can find several interesting buildings in that style - one of them is parish Church of St. James the Greater (La Chiesa di San Giacomo Maggiore). The church is among Ferla's citizen known under shorter name - La Chiesa Madre (The Mother's Church).
La Chiesa Madre is the only parish church of Ferla and is dedicated to St. James the Greater, Apostle. Cited by Rocco Pirro, site where church was built, hides ancient records: recent excavations have revealed the core of a Hellenistic necropolis inside church's perimeter. Couple yaers ago, during repavement of the church's interior, were under church also disovered ancient Christian tombs, proving the long-time persistence of a settlement on the same site.
The present Baroque structure was built after the devastating earthquake in 1693, on the same locality, where was older Renaissance church. The church is characterized by a massive ashlar walls supported by strong buttresses on both sides of the nave. Above the main entrance portal, built in Corinthian style, is coat od arms of Ferla. The spacious church's nave is equipped by three chapels on each side. The church has an archive that collects documents, manuscripts and parchment documents from 1500. The interior stucco decorations and sculptures are both in Corinthian style.