basilica di Santa Maria Assunta (Basilica di Maria Santissima Assunta)

The first mother church of Alcamo, positioned on the north side of the quarter of San Vito, was first dedicated to Our Lady Source of Mercy (Santa Maria Fonte della Misericordia, 1200) and then to Our Lady with the Star (Madonna della Stella). This Church is still existing under the name of Santa Maria della Stella, though in a state of abandonment.
In 1332, the inhabitants of quarter of San Vito moved near the castle of the Counts of Modica, and for this reason a new mother church was built in the same place where the present one is located and it is dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption. This church opened to worship in 1402, was built in a Catalan-Gothic style with a nave and two side aisles and had a wooden ceiling and side chapels not aligned. It was enlarged and modified in 1471, 1530-1558 and 1581.
Today we can only see the bell tower with double lancet windows (restored in 1942), the chapel of the Holy Thorn and the Baptistery.

About the 16th century it gave the name to one of the four districts in which Alcamo was divided, the so-called "Maggiore Chiesa".
In 1602 in this Church they founded the company of Santa Maria dello Stellario (Our Lady of Stellario), formed by countrymen ("villani") and butchers ("macellai"), transferred to church of Stellario in 1625.
The church was rebuilt in 1669 by Archduke Joseph and Angelo Italia (an architect from the Society of Jesus), while the neo-classical façade was realized in 1786 by Emanuele Cardona.
In 1918 in the mother church they founded the congregation of the Sacramentines, then the congregation of Ursulines (1919) and the Assuntines (1936).
Until the first half of the 20th century, the dome was covered with majolica tiles, later replaced with copper plates. In 1954, year of Mary, on the first centenary of the…

The church has a basilican plan with a nave and two side aisles which are divided by two rows of columns with monolithic marble shafts extracted from the near mount Bonifato. The stuccoes were made by the Curtis, while the floor was realized on the architect Giuseppe Patricolo's plan.
The interior contains 38 frescos by Guglielmo Borremans; in particular the three frescoes on the vault, realized by Borremans in 1735, represent Our Lady's Assumption with the Holy Trinity and the Saints Anne and Joachim, John the Baptist, David and the patriarchs, Cherubs, Angels and Archangels (in the first space), The Virgin's Coronation with the Eucharistic Word in her bosom, the Holy Trinity and Angels (in the second space) and Our Lady the Queen crowned and sitting among the clouds, holding a sceptre with Saint Peter on the right and Saint Paul on the left and male and female saints who founded religious or monastic orders, with Saint Rosalia (in the third space).
Besides the frescoes, there are other works by Borremans and in particular:

The Cana's wedding and the miracle of the loaves and fishes (in the side walls of the Holy Sacrament's chapel)
The Catholic Faith assisted by the Paraclete, crowned with flowers and carried shoulder-high (on the vault of the chapel of the Holy Sacrament)
The four evangelists with their symbols writing a motto from the Gospel in honour of Mary (in the spaces above the big marble pillars)
Angels with the pontifical insignia and Saint Peter's Chair supported by four animals of Apocalypse (on the vault of Saint Peter's chapel)
Melchisedech blessing Abraham, Moses and the crossing of the Red Sea, Elijah making fire to fall on the altar and the Jewish pontiff sitting on Moses' Chair and assisted by his priests while some lepers, prostrated in front of…

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