Chiesa di S. Maria Assunta, Civita

It is worth going to this Orthodox rite church

. In the historic center, in addition to the chapel of Sant’Antonio and the sixteenth-century chapel of Santa Maria della Consolazione, it is worth visiting the church of Santa Maria Assunta, built in Baroque style in the second half of the sixteenth century. The layout is oriental: it looks towards the sunrise and bears the symbols and forms of Byzantine theology. Today, in fact, the church has the iconostasis (the wall that holds the icons) and the Greek altar. The Byzantine liturgy is celebrated there, because the Albanians of Italy are Catholics of the Greek rite. In the church, therefore, the statues are replaced by icons: those of Christ Pantokràtor and the Virgin Hodegetria were painted by Alfonso Caccese, and those of the twelve feasts of the year came from Athens. The iconostasis in walnut and olive wood is also recent, thirty years ago. (Source: most beautiful villages in Italy)