San Leone is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

basilica church located on Via Crissa #294 in the town of

Assoro Assoro (, , ) is a ''comune'' in the Province of Enna, Sicily, southern Italy. The town-site of Assoro occupies the site of ancient Assorus. The fight to take the heights of Assoro during WWII figured prominently in Farley Mowat Farley M ...

province of Enna The province of Enna (; Sicilian: ''pruvincia di Enna''; officially ''libero consorzio comunale di Enna'') is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy. It was created in 1927, out of parts of the provinces of Caltanisetta an ...

, region of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

History and Architecture

The church of San Leone appears to have been founded in the late 12th-century as a royal chapel under the patronage of Constance I, Queen of Sicily, also known as ''Constance of Hauteville'' (Costanza d’Altavilla), the daughter of the Norman

Roger II of Sicily Roger II or Roger the Great (, , Greek language, Greek: Ρογέριος; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Kingdom of Sicily, Sicily and Kingdom of Africa, Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon, C ...

. It became the "mother church" of town and nearby parishes in 1492, and seven years later elevated to the title of Basilica. In 1933, the church was declared a National monument. The church has a Latin cross layout and has accumulated decoration over the centuries. The main elements are gothic: a central nave is tall and the facade has a circular window above a rounded window with a gently peaked central portal. The central nave is separated from the lateral aisles by richly decorated columns. The interior contains a number of artworks from past centuries, including a wooden and stucco crucifix attributed to

Antonello Gagini Antonello Gagini (1478–1536) was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance, mainly active in Sicily and Calabria. Antonello belonged to a family of sculptors and artisans, originally from Northern Italy, but active throughout Italy, including Gen ...

; a large sculpted

polyptych A polyptych ( ; Greek: ''poly-'' "many" and ''ptychē'' "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) which is divided into sections, or panels. Some definitions restrict "polyptych" to works with more than three sections: a diptych is ...

associated with the baptismal font, also attributed to Gagini; a silver cross by

Vincenzo Archifel Vincenzo is an Italian male given name, derived from the Latin name Vincentius (the verb ''vincere'' means to win or to conquer). Notable people with the name include: Art * Vincenzo Amato (born 1966), Italian actor and sculptor * Vincenzo Bel ...

; four medieval sarcophagi belonging to the Counts of Valguarnera; and a paleo-Christian crypt below the church.Parish website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leone Assoro Churches in the province of Enna 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy