After the earthquake of 1693, which destroyed the church of Santa Maria, it was rebuilt in 1722 further downstream in Militello in Val di Catania.
The façade in Baroque style, designed by the architect Giuseppe Ferrara.
It has richly carved columns surmounted by a broken curved pediment, and stands out scenographically at the bottom of a staircase.
An imposing bell tower dominates next to it.
Open to worship in 1741, and dedicated to the Madonna della Stella, patron saint of the city.
In 1969 it was declared a Marian Sanctuary.
Santa Maria, casket of works of art
Divided into three naves, the barrel vault is decorated in stucco and frescoed by the militellese painter Giuseppe Barone in 1947.
Other stuccos are the work of the eighteenth-century artist Onofrio Russo, according to the eighteenth-century fashion of Giacomo Serpotta from Palermo.
Along the aisles there are twelve altars rich in precious works of art.
They include some from the church of Santa Maria la Vetere: the wooden and hemp statue of the Madonna della Stella, dated 1618, the object of enormous devotion and the three stone sarcophagi of Blasco II, Carlo and Vincenzo Barresi, dated between 1400 and 1500, in Gothic-Catalan and Renaissance style.
The altarpiece of the Nativity of Jesus is a work of art from 1487 by the Florentine Andrea della Robbia.
The Nativity of Mary by Olivio Sozzi also stands out, an altarpiece framed by a wooden machine from 1753, and a wooden statue of Christ on the column, the object of great devotion during Holy Week. A precious treasure is kept in the sacristy.
The "Nativity" by Andrea della Robbia
The writer Pietro Carrera, parish priest of the church of Santa Maria, attributes to Antonio Pietro Barresi the commission of a splendid Altarpiece of the Nativity of Jesus to the Florentine sculptor Andrea della Robbia (1435-1525).
It is dated 1487, the year of his expedition to Militello.
This is the highest expression of the Italian Renaissance in Militello, a masterpiece made in high relief in the technique of glazed polychrome ceramics.
The Pala is made in 80 glazed ceramic tiles, which measures 3.40 x 2.30. It was placed in the frontal altar of the southern nave.
How did a similar work arrive in Militello?
It takes 17 crates to contain all the tiles: transported by sea from the port of Pisa to that of Palermo, the crates with their precious contents reached Militello by land, with carts.
We know that Barresi paid a total of 101 gold florins (of which a third for "postage", we would say today).
It was a reasonable figure for the time, but the lord of Militello paid no heed to equaling the principles of Italian Renaissance courts.
Still Carrera reports of a fire suffered by the Church of Santa Maria in 1618, in which the altarpiece also suffered damage.
After the earthquake of 1693, which destroyed two thirds of the Church of Santa Maria, the precious Pala was rescued.
When the new church of Santa Maria la Stella was built, the Pala was placed in the right aisle, where it can still be admired in all its beauty.
In the upper lunette is depicted the Father among the angels, which surmounts the Nativity scene, in a blaze of angels playing music and cherubs, on a naturalistic background.
The lower lunette band Christ is represented at the last supper, in the center between the Apostles.
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