Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore

The Church of S. Maria Maggiore (Saint Mary Major) stands close to the D’Aquino Castle in the historic centre of Grottaminarda.

Erected for the first time in 1478, it was rebuilt entirely following the disastrous earthquake of 1732, according to plans drawn up by the architect Ciriaco Di Silva, a student of Vaccaro.

The stately building of the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore has a Latin cross floor plan with a single nave and several side chapels. Inside, we find a high altar made from varicoloured marble in 1761 by the Neapolitan stonemasons Nicola Massaro and Gaetano Amoroso; many 18th-century paintings; a centrally-placed ceiling fresco representing the Glorification of the Assumption; a fine wood painting of 1573 depicting Our Lady of the Rosary with Child, encircled by 15 smaller paintings depicting scenes from the New Testament; an artistic 18th-century marble baptistery by Pasquale D’Agostino; a 1779 reed organ made by the local craftsman Vigilante; a rich assortment of sacred vestments and Baroque stucco work on the walls and vaults.

Externally, a stone staircase leads to the beautiful entrance portal, also made from stone with Baroque decorations, positioned on a façade adorned with pilasters to the side and a broken triangular pediment surmounted by an oculus. To the right, the Church is flanked by an imposing and majestic bell tower with a square base and four levels. It was built between 1752 and 1766, to a design by the famous Vanvitelli. The sculpted spiral stone staircase remains to this day. The clock was installed in 1871.

With its rich history of art and religious life, the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, with its 36 m bell tower, stands solemnly above the central Ufita Valley.