Originally known as the Church of Santa Maria di Porta San Gerardo, it is one of the oldest churches in Ciminna, dating back to 1475. It was entrusted to the Conventual Franciscans, who established their first convent there.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the church was dedicated to the Immaculate Conception and was later rededicated to Saint Lucy of Syracuse, whose devotion became firmly established. The church consists of a single nave.
In 1792, the interior was embellished with stucco decorations by the master stucco artist Giuseppe Guarneri.
Inside the Church
- Santa Maria di Gesù (polychrome marble), commissioned by Misser Domenico De Buchino and attributed to Francesco Laurana, 16th century.
- Santa Maria di Porta San Gerardo (polychrome wood), by an unknown 16th-century artist.
- Saint Lucy (gilded polychrome wood), by Giacomo Brugnone, 1611.
- Altarpiece depicting the Virgin Mary with Saint Francis and Saint Lucy, by an unknown 18th-century painter.
