Church of Sant'Edigio in Linguaglossa
The Church of Sant'Edigio in Linguaglossa is the oldest religious building in the village.
The date of construction is not known but it is certain that it already existed at the end of the 13th century: the first historical documentation dates back to 1310.
The gabled façade is divided into two orders by a string course. On the first level there is a large portal flanked by two pairs of pilaster strips with Ionic capitals that support the string course frame. On the second order there is a lunette window flanked by two pairs of pilasters, smaller in size than those of the first order, with Corinthian style capitals. The façade is closed by a slightly overhanging gable. Next to the building stands the bell tower, with a square plan and pyramidal roof. Of particular value is the ancient ogival portal of sandstone and pumice located along the left side of the building. In the architrave of the portal a mermaid is sculpted holding two snakes which represents the struggle between good and evil, therefore between the Christian and pagan religions. This symbol had been erroneously interpreted as the ancient coat of arms of Linguaglossa.
The interior, in the shape of a Latin cross, features valuable frescoes dating back to the 16th century which depict scenes of the passion of Christ and Saints Edigio, Peter and Paul.
Among the works kept inside, of particular value are: the sixteenth-century wooden statue of the patron saint; the nineteenth-century canvas of Sant'Alfonso, the work of Pasquale Sciacca; the canvas of San Vincenzo Ferreri and the Martyrdom of Sant'Erasmo, a work from 1848 by Emanuele Grasso; the nineteenth-century canvas Madonna desolata fra San Pietro e San Pasquale, coming from the Calvario church; the nineteenth-century canvas of the Martyrdom of Saint Apollonia, attributed to Domenico Provenzani.
