Description
The city was born from the fusion of two centers originally separated by the river Longano, had two archpriesthoods, which still remain, one headed by San Sebastiano and the other, from Pozzo di Gotto, to the church of santa Maria AssuntaThe latter is structurally and stylistically similar to the Basilica of San Sebastiano and dominates the urban landscape with its tall, imposing domes.
We cannot know its original structure, as it was founded in 1620 (or 1642) and was still under construction in 1646. It was destroyed by the 1783 earthquake; rebuilt in its current form on the same site in 1859, it was completed in 1863. However, the 1908 earthquake again caused serious damage, so much so that it had to be almost entirely rebuilt, completing it in 1938.
Inside are kept the marble statue of San Vito from the 16th century, coming from the former church of the same name, the 17th century painting depicting the Blessing Savior within a floral wreath and an elegant marble holy water stoup from the late 17th century.
The church is also the only place in the whole city where some interesting examples of nineteenth-century Messina painting are preserved: Coronation of the Virgin (1859, Salvatore Ferro), San Liberante (1861, Michele Panebianco, Sacred Heart (attr. Panebianco), Souls in Purgatory, San Vito, Baptism of Christ (S. Ferro) and Madonna of the Rosary (Placido Lucà Trombetta, 1869)
