Church of the Nativity of Maria (Mother Church)

 It was built starting from 1769 by the architect Salvatore Attinelli, by Salvatore Branciforti, to replace the small church that was inside Palazzo Butera. The building forms the backdrop to Corso Umberto with its majestic and imposing neoclassical façade in Aspra stone, made up of Corinthian pillars and columns, with a portal in the center surmounted by an arch on which is the Branciforti coat of arms. The Church consists of a single nave with the high altar containing the wooden statue of the Immaculate Conception. Near the high altar, there is a medallion depicting a Madonna with Child, in marble, from the Gagini school, donated by the founder. The nave is enriched by four side altars which contain: a canvas with the Madonna del Rosario, one with San Bonaventura,

In depth

It was built starting from 1769 by the architect Salvatore Attinelli, by Salvatore Branciforti, to replace the small church that was inside Palazzo Butera. The building forms the backdrop to Corso Umberto with its majestic and imposing neoclassical façade in Aspra stone, made up of Corinthian pillars and columns, with a portal in the center surmounted by an arch on which is the Branciforti coat of arms.

The Church consists of a single nave with the high altar containing the wooden statue of the Immaculate Conception. Near the high altar, there is a medallion depicting a Madonna with Child, in marble, from the Gagini school, donated by the founder.

The nave is enriched by four side altars which contain: a canvas with the Madonna del Rosario, one with San Bonaventura, a painting of San Francesco and San Giuseppe with the Child Jesus, and a wooden Crucifix.

There is also a statue created by Domenico Quattrociocchi dedicated to San Giuseppe, Patron of Bagheria. Domenico Mangione, a notable of the time, had the prospectus of the Church enriched with a still functioning clock. In the early years of the twentieth century, the interior of the nave was repainted in imitation marble, the walls of the main altar were frescoed with the tables of the Ten Commandments and with the Ark of the Covenant; towards the middle of the same century the bell tower was built on top of the pre-existing one which was raised.