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The Basilica Santa Maria Assunta has its doorway in Piazza IV Novembre and it represent the main place of worship in Alcamo. The main facade (southern side) has a Neoclassical and Barroque style and it is made with red stone extracted from the mine “Sant’Ippolito”. The facade was added to the church in 1786 but the origins of the Basilica dates back to the fourth century. In n the first half of XVIII century, it was restored thanks to a project led by the two architects Angelo Italia and Giuseppe Diamante. The Eastern side is simpler in the structure but it has a decorated doorway probably made by Berrettaro on 1499. The dome of the church (50 m high with a 10 m diameter) is one of the most beautiful domes in Italy. It is enriched by the statue of Maria Assunta and the War Memorial (to the dead soldiers of the IWW 1915-18) which has a dedication to people from Alcamo emmigrated to Brooklyn. The interior is composed by a central nave and two lateral naves divided by a row of columns of red marble extracted from Monte Bonifato. The church is a great example of the Sicilian Baroque style. In the nave on the right, near the first chapel, there is a little chapel dedicated to the mortal remains of Don Giuseppe Rizzo, an important priest for the history and the economy of Alcamo. This little chapel was built based on the project led by the architect Paolo Portoghesi and it was inaugurated in 1995. The chapel has a low relief (of pure white marble of Apuane) made by Paolo Borghi, representing the presbyter and some religious parables reproducing some masterpieces of Giacomo Serpotta. At the end of the right nave, near the choir, there is the Chapel of Sacra Spina with its magnificient portals in Gothic-Catalan style and a reliquary containing a thorn of Jesus crown.
