cattedrale di Caltanissetta (Caltanissetta Cathedral)

The earliest known mother church was the Church of Santa Maria, later called degli Angeli (due to a painting of the Madonna surrounded by angels) or la Vetere to distinguish it from the new mother church. This new church, built around the year 1000 as the palatine chapel of the Pietrarossa Castle, became the parish seat by a decree of Frederick II in 1239. Before this, pastoral care was entrusted to the Santo Spirito Abbey (since 1095).
In the 15th century, the parish was relocated to the Church of Santa Domenica within the city, and in 1518, to the larger San Domenico Church.
In the 16th century, as the city expanded north of the castle and the mother church, which became peripheral, the people expressed a desire for a larger, more centrally located mother church. In 1545, Archpriest Francesco Diforti established a committee for the construction of a new church, which acquired the small Immacolata church and a large plot of land in the so-called Chianu di l'olivi, facing the Carmine church and convent.
In 1570, the construction of the temple began with a solemn cornerstone ceremony and was completed in 1622. Originally, it had three naves, each ending in a large chapel: the central one dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, the left to the Blessed Sacrament, and the right to Saint Michael the Archangel. The naves ended before the current transept.
From 1718 to 1720, at the expense of Archpriest Raffaele Riccobene, the Flemish painter Guglielmo Borremans (1670–1744) was commissioned, along with his son Luigi, to fresco the vault and central nave and to paint the altarpiece of the high altar, depicting the Immaculate Conception.
On July 26, 1733, the mother church was consecrated by the Bishop of Agrigento, Lorenzo Gioeni, under the title of Santa Maria la Nova and…

The cathedral features a broad facade divided by pilasters, flanked by two bell towers, and dominates the entire Piazza Garibaldi. The interior, in the shape of a Latin cross, is divided into three naves supported by fourteen arches, each dedicated to a figure from the Old Testament. Before the 1943 bombing, these arches supported figures of the twelve apostles. At the intersection of the two arms of the cross, above the altar, is the dome.
The remarkable series of frescoes adorning the central nave is the work of the Flemish painter Guglielmo Borremans (1670–1744), who worked in Caltanissetta in 1720. The three central scenes, depicting the Immaculate Conception, the Coronation of the Virgin, and the triumph of Saint Michael, are presented to visitors alongside depictions of cherubs, clouds, and gilded floral stucco. The lavish stucco decorative scheme, consisting of friezes, volutes, medallions, shells, faux pillars, and columns in the rocaille style, was crafted by Francesco Ferrigno. A signed work with the inscription "Franciscus Ferrigno, Architectus Panormitanus" is documented on the faux niche of the high altar.
In the second chapel on the right, notable is the presence of a wooden statue of the Immaculate Conception, crafted in 1760, adorned with precious silver foil drapery. In the chapel adjacent to the main one, there are representations of Saint Michael (patron of the city since the 17th century), a wooden statue by Stefano Li Volsi, and the archangels Gabriel and Raphael, marble sculptures by Vincenzo Vitaliano. On the high altar, one can admire the Immaculate Conception and Saints, a large altarpiece by Borremans. Also noteworthy are a precious carved and decorated organ, a painting of Our Lady of Mount Carmel by Filippo Paladini (1544–1614), and a…

The Caltanissetta Cathedral houses the burials of several bishops:

Antonino Maria Stromillo, 1st bishop of Caltanissetta and apostolic administrator of Calascibetta, in the Immaculate Conception Chapel;
Giovanni Battista Guttadauro di Reburdone, 2nd bishop of Caltanissetta and apostolic administrator of Calascibetta, in the Saint Lawrence Chapel;
Ignazio Zuccaro, 3rd bishop of Caltanissetta and apostolic administrator of Calascibetta, in the Saint Lawrence Chapel;
Giovanni Jacono, 5th bishop of Caltanissetta and apostolic administrator of Calascibetta, in the Redeemer Chapel;
Francesco Monaco, 6th bishop of Caltanissetta and apostolic administrator of Calascibetta, in the Saint Anne Chapel;
Alfredo Maria Garsia, 7th bishop of Caltanissetta and apostolic administrator of Calascibetta, in the transept to the right of the altar;
Giovanni Rizzo, archbishop of Rossano, in the Saint Stephen Chapel;
Baldassare Leone, bishop of Agrigento, who died in Caltanissetta during a pastoral visit, in the Immaculate Conception Chapel.
Also present are the burials of two Caltanissetta nobles:

Giovanni Barile, Baron of Turolifi, in the Saint Felix Chapel;
Giuseppe Barile, priest and noble, in the Saint Felix Chapel.

May 8, San Michele u virdi, commemorating the miracle that freed Caltanissetta from the plague in 1625, with a procession from the cathedral to the San Michele alle Calcare Church. The statue is returned to the cathedral two weeks later.
August 6, Feast of the Redeemer, co-patron of the city, with a procession through the old city and return to the cathedral.
September 29, Patronal Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, established following the 1625 apparition, with a procession through the city and the statue's return to the cathedral; a fair, dating back to 1550, is held during these days.
December 8, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, co-patroness of Caltanissetta, with a procession from the cathedral to the San Francesco Church. The statue is returned to the cathedral two weeks later.
December 28, Feast of the Three Saints and Te Deum in thanksgiving for surviving the 1908 Messina earthquake, with a procession of the statues of Saint Michael the Archangel, Immaculate Conception, and Redeemer.