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Cattedrale di Maria Santissima delle Vittorie, Duomo di Piazza Armerina
Photo: Rabe!, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The massive Baroque cathedral (17th and 18th centuries), built on the 15th-century foundations of a former church, from which the bell tower was taken and reused. Also original to the 15th-century church are the Catalan-Gothic style windows on the left side. The dome dates from 1768. The façade has a notable portal with spiral columns by Leonardo De Luca. The interior, with a single large nave, houses the Madonna della Vittoria (Madonna of the Victory). The Byzantine icon is traditionally associated with the banner donated by the Pope to Roger I of Sicily during the Council of Melfi. The cathedral has an unusual two-sided crucifix by an unknown artist. The Diocesan Museum holds reliquaries, articles of silverware, monstrances and other religious art works.
Piazza Armerina Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Piazza Armerina, Sicily, Italy. The dedication is to Mary of the Victories. It is the seat of the Bishops of Piazza Armerina.
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One of the highlights of Sicily, with the remains of a large number of rooms covered by a huge canopy to protect the numerous elaborate mosaics which are much more impressive than those at Pompeii. In fact you can tell what the room was by the mosaic. For instance, there is a mosaic with a rather rotund man getting a massage, then being washed down to enter the baths. After the baths the room shows the man drying off with a big fluffy towel. With that you know the first room was to get relaxed before entering the baths and so on. Also very interesting is the mosaic of the "Girls in Bikinis" depicting women working out in a gym.
There are about 5 buses a day from Piazza Senatore Marescalchi, or you could walk, or take a taxi from the nearby Piazza Generale Cascino.