The Church and Convent of Santa Maria di Gesù is one of Collesano's quieter Franciscan landmarks: simple from the street, but rich in local memory. The complex was promoted in 1611 by Maria Aragona, wife of Francesco Moncada, Count of Collesano. Pope Paul V blessed the first stone in Rome; it was brought to Collesano and placed in the convent facade on 3 February 1612.
The church was entrusted to the Reformed Friars Minor and kept a deliberately simple plan: one nave, a vaulted ceiling, a high altar and six side altars. Look especially for the Porziuncola painting on the high altar, commissioned in 1625 by the Micciancio family and signed by Gaspare Buzzata, and for the marble Madonna with Child by Carlo D'Aprile.
The most venerated work is the wooden Crucifix of 1635 by fra Umile Pintorno da Petralia Soprana. Its blessing on 11 February 1635 was treated as a major civic event: the Crucifix was first taken to the Mother Church, then carried in procession to Santa Maria di Gesù and placed in a chapel near the high altar, decorated with paintings by G. G. Lo Varchi. Devotion became so strong that the Crucifix was proclaimed co-patron of the town, and it is still carried in procession on 14 September.
The former convent beside the church later served different civic uses after the suppression of religious orders, including barracks and prison. Today it houses the municipal library and cultural spaces. Its 17th-century cloister rests on 12 stone columns; the capitals show the coats of arms of the Collesano families who paid for them. Also notable inside the church is the carved wooden tabernacle-case dated 1763, with small columns, mother-of-pearl inlay, a small Crucifix and five finely carved figures.
NoteExterior always visible. Interior depends on opening hours.
Founded in 1612 at the will of the Civic Council and the Counts of Collesano, entrusted to the Reformed Franciscan Friars.
Houses the celebrated wooden Crucifix carved in 1635 by Fra Umile da Petralia — said to show three different expressions (smiling, agonising, dead) depending on the viewing angle.
Marble Madonna with Child by Carlo D'Aprile, one of the leading 17th-century Sicilian sculptors.
Convent rebuilt in 1887 by Father Rosario Barbera; after 19th-century suppression of religious orders it served as a barracks and a prison.
Timeline
1611Church and convent of the Reformed Friars Minor founded — by tradition at the will of the Aragona–Moncada counts and the Civic Council of Collesano.
3 Feb 1612The first stone, blessed in Rome by Pope Paul V, is set into the convent façade.
1625–26The Porziuncola altarpiece is painted by Gaspare Buzzata for the Micciancio family.
1635Fra Umile da Petralia carves the venerated wooden Crucifix; the cross supporting it is the work of Innocenzo da Petralia.
17th c.The Crucifix becomes so venerated it is proclaimed co-patron of Collesano; carried in procession in September.
1763The carved wooden tabernacle-case with mother-of-pearl inlay is made.
after 1866Religious orders are suppressed; the convent is turned into barracks, then a prison.
1887A new convent is built by Father Rosario Barbera.
1919The fragile original Crucifix is retired from the processions.
1957A replica by sculptor Luigi Maniscalco (finished 12 April) is carried in the modern 13–14 September feast.
People & families
The Aragona–Moncada counts— Collesano was held in the early 1600s by Antonio d’Aragona Moncada; local tradition credits the foundation to the patron-couple Francesco II Moncada and Maria d’Aragona, though both had died before 1611 (so it likely reflects a bequest or pious memory).
Fra Umile da Petralia (1600–1639)— born Giovan Francesco Pintorno at Petralia Soprana; a Reformed Franciscan lay brother and the most celebrated Sicilian carver of polychrome wooden crucifixes.
Innocenzo da Petralia (1591–1648)— friar-sculptor of Petralia Sottana who carved the cross that bears Fra Umile’s figure here.
Carlo D’Aprile (Genoa 1621 – Palermo 1668)— sculptor of the Sicilian Baroque (Carona family); the church’s marble Madonna with Child is his.
Giovan Giacomo Lo Varchi (Collesano 1606–1683)— local painter, follower of Gaspare Bazzano, who decorated the Crucifix chapel.
Father Rosario Barbera— rebuilt the convent in 1887 after the 19th-century suppressions.
Stories & traditions
A Franciscan legend says angels finished Fra Umile’s crucifixes at night, and that he vowed to carve thirty-three — one for each year of Christ’s life.
A local tale holds that the Crucifix’s face seems to change — smiling, suffering, dead — with the viewing angle; it is repeated in town but not found in older sources.
The September feast falls on the Exaltation of the Cross; since the original was retired in 1919, Maniscalco’s 1957 replica is the one carried through the streets.
The 17th-century cloister rests on twelve stone columns whose capitals carry the coats of arms of the twelve families who funded them.
After the orders were suppressed, the cloister served as barracks and prison before becoming today’s municipal library — sacred, military and civic life in one building.
Visiting
HoursMornings; for Mass and on request
AdmissionFree
AccessStepped entrance from Via Polizzi; single nave is level inside.
