Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption (Alcamo)

Basilica of Our Lady's Assumption
Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta
Façade of Basilica of Our Lady's Assumption
Basic information
Location	Alcamo, province of Trapani, Italy
Geographic coordinates	37°58′51″N 12°57′56″E / 37.980971°N 12.965526°E / 37.980971; 12.965526Coordinates: 37°58′51″N 12°57′56″E / 37.980971°N 12.965526°E / 37.980971; 12.965526
Territory	Alcamo
State	Italy
Province	province of Trapani
Region	Sicily
Country	Italy
Groundbreaking	1332

The Basilica of Our Lady's Assumption (also called mother church) is a 14th-century basilica in Alcamo, province of Trapani, Sicily, southern Italy. It is named after the Assumption.

The first mother church of Alcamo, positioned on the north side of the quarter of San Vito, was first dedicated to Our Lady Source of Mercy (Santa Maria Fonte della Misericordia, 1200) and then to Our Lady with the Star (Madonna della Stella). This Church is still existing under the name of Santa Maria della Stella, though in a state of abandonment.

In 1332 the inhabitants of quarter of San Vito moved near the castle of the Counts of Modica, and for this reason a new mother church was built in the same place where the present one is located and it is dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption. This church opened to worship in 1402, was built in a Catalan-Gothic style with a nave and two side aisles and had a wooden ceiling and side chapels not aligned. It was enlarged and modified in 1471, 1530-1558 and 1581.

Today we can only see the bell tower with double lancet windows (restored in 1942), the chapel of the Holy Thorn and the Baptistery.

About the 16th century it gave the name to one of the four districts in which Alcamo was divided, the so-called "Maggiore Chiesa".

In 1602 in this Church they founded the company of Santa Maria dello Stellario (Our Lady of Stellario), formed by countrymen ("villani") and butchers ("macellai"), transferred to church of Stellario in 1625.

The church was rebuilt in 1669 by Giuseppe Diamante and Angelo Italia (an architect from the Society of Jesus), while the neo-classical façade was realized in 1786 by Emanuele Cardona.