Church of Maria SS. of Carmel in Santa Venerina
The Church of Maria SS. del Carmelo in Santa Venerina is the building of worship in the village of Bogiardo.
It was built in 1723 in the territory of the University of Aci SS. Antonio and Filippo at the behest of the spouses Francesco and Giovanna Pulvirenti in a portion of their vineyard with authorization from the Regio Segreto. Over the years it was subjected to various disasters which severely affected the structure of the church: the earthquake of 17 June 1879; the flood of 1881; the earthquake of 1894; the earthquake of 29 October 2002.
The façade is in neoclassical style: two pairs of pilasters, with Ionic-style capitals surmounted by an entablature and a slightly overhanging tympanum, frame the portal. The façade ends with a baroque bell tower with a dome made of pista, i.e. brick and lime pesto typical of nineteenth-century workers.
The interior, rich in stuccoes and works of art, redone over the years, among other things, it preserves the wooden statues of the patron saint and co-patron saint.
The interior, with a single nave, has six altars in Sicilian marble. The main altar has a valuable crown of rare Sicilian onyx.
Among the works kept in the church, noteworthy are: the canvas of the Madonna del Carmine and Saints, works by the Calatino painter Vaccaro; the wooden statues of the Patroness Maria SS. of Carmelo and San Francesco di Paola; the Baby Jesus by Ignazio Castorina.
