Piazza Armerina Cathedral

Piazza Armerina Cathedral, dedicated to Maria Santissima delle Vittorie, dominates the hilltop of the old town from the highest point. The building is a Baroque construction of the 17th–18th century, with a distinctive facade of two mismatched towers that were planned to be identical but ran out of money before the second was finished.

The interior is spacious and richly decorated, with a coffered ceiling and numerous altars in Sicilian Baroque style. The cathedral's main treasure is the painted image of the Virgin, claimed to be a 12th-century Byzantine icon of miraculous history. The surrounding Piazza Garibaldi is pleasant, with views over the rooftops toward the surrounding countryside. Free entry during opening hours.

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A story
The cathedral was begun in 1604 after the previous church was destroyed by earthquake, and its construction dragged on for nearly two centuries as funds ran out and priorities shifted. The most remarkable object inside is a painting of the Virgin attributed to the school of Roger II of Sicily (12th century), which locals credit with ending a siege of the town by the Saracens in 1001 AD — 600 years before the cathedral was built to house it. The anachronism in the devotional tradition is either unremarked upon or considered beside the point.