CHIESA DI SAN MATTEO

According to tradition, this is the most ancient church in Marsala, built on the ruins of a temple dedicated to Neptune. Originally with a main nave and two side aisles, over the centuries it underwent reconstructions and reshaping, until it assumed its present layout with a single nave. The apse contains a cupola of arabic style which is positionned directly on the square base by pendentives, typical solution of certain XV century chapels in the Trapani area. The façade “a capanna” (with a roof with two slopes) is attached to a high bell tower with battlements and a clock, thought to be an ancient watch tower of the city. It has two eighteenth century doorways, one on the main façade, and another lateral one which opens onto via Punica.