Church of the Rosary
The Church of the Rosary
We are on the edge of the Saracen Quarter, a kind of Kasbah (citadel) serving the Arab castle of Zabut, in the northern part of the town.
From a votive niche against all superstitions to the current Church
Among these alleys, according to tradition, the souls of Saracens who had been buried alive in the fortress dungeons wandered at night. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Jesuit Fathers arrived in Sambuca to dispel superstitions and beliefs in ghosts. To overcome these fears, they built a votive niche funded by alms: on the wall was painted an image of Our Lady of the Scala, which became miraculous. In the meantime, the population grew, and devotion to Our Lady of the "Scalidda" increased. The desire to replace the chapel with a church dedicated to Mary became ever more pressing. Thanks to the numerous alms from the faithful, fueled by the fervent belief in the miracles granted through the intercession of Our Lady of the votive niche, between 1554 and 1664 a Jesuit founded the current church on this site, dedicating it to Our Lady of the Rosary.
A sober style and unique architectural solutions
The church, with its rectangular plan and three low-arched and vaulted naves, preserves its original sober style and the austerity accumulated over four centuries of existence. It is the only church in Sambuca, along with the Church of San Michele, to feature three naves and three corresponding front entrances. The central nave is covered by a barrel vault in plaster, while externally, the roof has a double-pitched structure covered with Sicilian tiles.
A unique architecture in the sign of Saint Domenico
The church, built by Sicilian craftsmen, is enclosed by an artistic iron gate leading to the spacious mosaic forecourt in front of the simple façade. The bicolor pebble pavement—dated 1752—features, in the central medallion, on a white background, the emblem of St. Dominic de Guzmán, the Spanish saint who founded the Rosary: a dog with a torch in its mouth. This image is associated with a vivid story in which St. Dominic’s mother, during childbirth, is said to have had a vision of a dog running with a flaming torch in its mouth, illuminating the world. The Dominicans, from the Latin “Domini canes” (the Lord’s dogs), are “the dogs of the Lord”—defenders of the truth who attack heretics and protect Christ’s flock. The dog represents faithfulness to the Gospel message, while the torch symbolizes the spreading of God’s Word among both believers and non-believers through the work of the Friars Preachers.
Nineteenth-century details in the strict seventeenth-century exterior
The church, constructed with load-bearing sandstone and local stone blocks, has a somewhat squat architectural appearance and modest proportions. The façade features a gabled design, divided into three sections: one higher central section and two lower lateral sections. To the right of the building, it incorporates a square bell tower, built between 1950 and 1955, topped with a loggia divided into four parts with double arches on each side. The entrance portal is made of sculpted tuff blocks, framed by two pilasters, with a curved tympanum broken in the center. The portal frames a chestnut wood door, intricately carved in 1893 by a craftsman named Michele Viscosi. For its construction, Viscosi used three cypress trees from the forest of the convent of Santa Maria di Gesù dei Padri Riformati. The 16 finely carved bas-relief panels depict thematic scenes from the life of the Saint (including the apparition of the Virgin of the Rosary and preaching to a group of heretics), alongside the Dominican emblem, putti, cornucopias, grotesques, and masks, all set amidst stunning floral decorations within a frame of acanthus leaf braids.
A journey through the frescoes and canvases of the Sicilian painting school
The interior, with delicate neoclassical stucco decorations, is a renovation from 1837. At the beginning of the 19th century, the church underwent a complete restoration campaign that involved the entire decorative apparatus of the sacred temple. The central vault’s panels are frescoed with images depicting the "Collapse of the Walls of Jericho," the "Processional Passage of the Ark of the Covenant," the "Victory of David over Goliath," "King David Sitting on the Throne," and the "Victory of the Battle of Lepanto." Along the side aisles, the walls are adorned with altars. The first altar on the right features the fresco of the Madonna della Scala or “Scalilla” from the 16th century, created in the 1500s to ward off the presence of malevolent spirits and strange figures that, according to popular beliefs, roamed the neighborhood at night near the castle. The church houses many canvases from the Sicilian painting tradition of the 1600s. Among these, before the theft, there were also two 17th-century paintings: "Noli me tangere," with Flemish influences, depicting Saint Dominic against a landscape background, and a painting of the Guardian Angel, created by the Capuchin Fra Felice da Sambuca. The beautifully carved cabinet from the sacristy is now preserved in the Church of the Carmine, while the church crypt, used for burial until 1886, still contains numerous mummified remains. In 1992, some liturgical adjustments were made: the addition of a rectangular wooden altar with gold decorations on the front and a marble ambo (a column topped by an inclined platform).
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