10. Mother Church of St. William (formerly of St. Ignatius)

The Mother Church, located in Piazza Italia, was built in 1750, as evidenced by the date engraved on the string-course cornice between the first and second orders (Fig. a)after the 1693 earthquake had destroyed the Mother Church of Saint Matthew.
Originally dedicated to Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, it was later dedicated to Saint William, whose hallows are preserved inside.
Annexed to the Jesuit college, demolished in 1961 to make way for a school, it presents the typical forms of this order, as attested by the basilica layout, the wide façade, rich and at the same time severe, with its shallow pilasters and low side bell towers.
The façade, featuring two orders, is concluded by a tympanum with a concave-convex cornice (Fig. b). In the lower order, the three portals are delimited by pilasters. In the second order, which is connected to the lower one by two volutes, there is a large window that is enclosed, together with a clock, by moulded stone frames (Fig. c). On the sides, set back from the façade, are two barrel vaults, where the bells are placed.
Four statues on pedestals protrude from the wall and, together with cherubs and leaf motifs, decorate the façade.
The interior, with a three-nave basilica plan, is decorated with gilded stucco and frescoes (Fig. d). A chapel, known as the“Chapel of the Madonna of the Militia”, houses a papier-mâché statue, the author of which is unknown, and a canvas painted towards the end of the 18th century by Francesco Pascucci, depicting the battle between the Saracens and the Christians, which took place in 1091 (Fig. e).
The historical episode is re-enacted through a festival on the last Saturday of May. Tradition has it that the Virgin Mary on horseback, dressed as a warrior and with her sword drawn, rushed to defend the Christians in the battle that saw the Saracens of Belcane and the Normans of Roger of Altavilla face each other at Donnalucata, ensuring the latter victory (Fig. f).
This legendary tradition, recalled in the literary work “The Red Carnation” by the writer Elio Vittorini, has been included in the “Register of the Intangible Heritage of Sicily” protected by Unesco.