Chiesa Madre - Gangi
Chiesa Madre - Gangi
The church is located on the village square and is dedicated to San Nicola from Bari.
Today it is connected with the imposing Ventimiglia tower which, with its arcades, is the vestibule of the main entrance; a time, however, the two structures were separated and the ancient tower, today's church tower, was used as civic tower.
The main church was built in the XIV century with the same name San Nicolò; at that time it consisted of a single nave and a transept on which three apses chapels arose. During the XVI and XVII century, it suffered its first transformations that led to the elongation of the compartment which reached the tower and the expansion which allowed to create three naves. Still in this period the "pinnata" exhisted , a covered porch place in the southern side of the church used for town meetings.
A further transformation during the XVIII century led to the definition of the chapel on the right aisle and the establishment of some altars.
Inside the church you can admire the Giudizio Universale, a masterpiece by Giuseppe Salerno (known as the Gangi cripple) some wooden statues of San Gaetano from Tiene, of San Eligio, of San Luigi, of San Vincenzo Ferreri and of San Domenico, all works attributed to the sculptor Filippo Quattrocchi from Gangi, while the San Nicola di Bari, located on the main altar in 1661, was made by Scipione Li Volsi.
Very notable is the Oratory of SS. Sacramento, frescoed during XVIII century, and the crypt containing the mummies of some priests, commonly called "a fossa of parrini " (the Parrini's pit).