MAZARA del VALLO, DIOCESE OF. – A city and diocese in the province of Trapani, in Sicily. It has an area of 1,905.10 sq km; 252,800 inhabitants, all Catholic; 50 parishes served by 197 diocesan priests and 34 regular clergy, one seminary, 8 male religious communities and 38 female ones. Patrons: the holy martyrs Vitus, Modestus, and Crescentia.
I. HISTORY
M. was an emporium of Selinunte and derived its name from the river Mazaros, near whose mouth it is situated. It was occupied by Gaius Duilius during the Second Punic War; it appears in the Itinerarium of Antoninus; on 17 June 827 the Arabs landed there, from where they advanced to the conquest of Sicily, later dividing it into three districts or valleys, one of which was that of M. In 1073 the Normans took possession of it, surrounding it with a double wall and a castle, of which some ruins remain.
The diocese was erected in 1093 by Urban II, when the episcopal see of Lilybaeum was transferred there: its territory extended from the Belice to the mountains of Corleone and to the Tyrrhenian Sea near Sferracavallo. The first bishop was Stephen de Ferro of Rouen, a relative of Count Roger. The third bishop, Tristano, in 1176 ceded Jato and Calatrasi to the archdiocese of Monreale, to which another 9 communes of the jurisdiction of M. were assigned on 20 May 1844 by Gregory XVI, who with the bull Ut animarum pastores of 31 May of the same year erected the diocese of Trapani with territory taken from the diocese of M. Of its 67 bishops, two were cardinals: the famous Bessarion (1449) and Gian Domenico Spinola (1637–46). Since 1933 it has been governed by Msgr. Gioachino Di Leo. By decree of 15 Sept. 1950 of the Sacred Consistorial Congregation, the island of Pantelleria was transferred to the diocese of M.; the communes of Alcamo, Calatafimi, Castellammare del Golfo and the hamlet Borgo Fazio were assigned to that of Trapani (AAS, 42 [1950], pp. 888–89).
II. MONUMENTS
The Cathedral, begun by Count Roger, was restored by Bishop Giovanni da Monteaperto (1470–85); Bishop Luciano de’ Rossi (1589) completed the dome and the organ, built the baptistery, restored the choir and the pulpit; in the apse, rich in Baroque stuccowork by the Ferraro of Giuliana, one admires an effective marble Transfiguration by Antonello and Antonino Gagini (1536). Also by Antonino Gagini is the beautiful statue of the titular saint in the church of S. Caterina. Of the 16th century and adorned with a characteristic dome are the oratory of S. Egidio and the church of the Carmine. Of Norman age and similar to the coeval churches of the Trinity of Delia in Castelvetrano and of S. Maria dell’Ammiraglio in Palermo is the church of S. Nicolicchio, with a central plan and dome. In 1710 Bishop Bartolomeo Castelli rebuilt the Seminary; in the small square in front stands the statue of S. Vito, a work by Ignazio Marabitti (1771).About 1 km from the town, on a hill, stands the sanctuary of the Madonna dell’Alto, founded by Roger, later becoming a commandery of the Order of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, and rebuilt in different periods. Another suburban church is the 15th-century S. Maria di Gesù, with a fine portico and noteworthy sculptures. In M. there are also some Christian tombs.