Mother Church (Cathedral) of Saint Peter and Paul

The Cathedral of Montevago was built on the spot where the Church of the Holy Crucifix or Purgatory once stood. It is dedicated to the Apostles Peter and Paul and its construction was started between the XVIII and the XIX centuries by Prince Giovanni Gravina Moncada. It was finished by Cardinal Pietro Gravina and consecrated in 1820. The façade had a neoclassic silhouette organised on two orders and looked over by two tall bell towers. The inside was shaped in a Latin cross, divided into three naves with side chapels. The hemispherical dome rose up over the intersection between the transept and the central nave. The walls of the apse were decorated with monochrome frescoes depicting biblical stories, while ornate altars of magnificent artistic work, sculptures and paintings, were to be found in the side chapels. Following the 1968 earthquake this grand piece of art was completely destroyed.