Church of Sant'Orsola in Erice
The Church of Sant’Orsola di Erice , also known as Church of the Addolorata , is located near Porta Spada and has a front garden.
Built in 1413 by the priest Michele Lombardo and dedicated to Sant'Orsola, the church was enlarged in 1450, at the behest of a nephew and namesake of the founder, through the construction of a second nave, dedicated to Santa Maria di Gesù. 1451 the Confraternity of Sant'Orsola joins it, under the title of the "Discipline". The brothers took part in the Good Friday procession, whipping each other to blood according to a tradition suppressed in the last century. Since the church's secular structures have given way, the six precious Sacred Groups of the Mysteries , belonging to the church, which were and are still carried in procession on Good Friday, are now preserved in the church of San Giuliano .
The fifteenth-century portal in yellow tuff stands out on the façade and, at the top, the belfry with two lights.
The interior has a very original structure with two naves. On the main altar, there is the statue of Sant'Orsola by Giovanni Basile. In the eighteenth century various interventions transformed the church, giving it a baroque appearance: the organ and the staircase of the Cappellone di Sant'Orsola were replaced, the chapel of Santa Maria Maggiore and the main altar were decorated with stuccoes, the balustrade was donated to the church in mischio marble, the pulpit, the stairs of the bell tower and numerous sacred furnishings. On the floor, 16th-century majolicas are discovered. In recent times, most of the stuccoes were removed, highlighting the limestone structure.
