Altars
Altar of the SS. Crocifisso
The altar of the Santissimo Crocifisso, dating from the 16th century, is located in the small chapel of the same named confraternity, at the end of the left aisle. The altar wall is adorned with pilasters and two niches housing statues of the Vergine col Bambino e San Michele Arcangelo defeating the devil, all made of calcarenite blocks. In the centre of the wall, there was the Crocifisso (now placed on the central altar of the church of Sant’Agostino, where the parish was transferred in 1903); bordered by the gilded wooden frame, one can now see a small space behind, carved into the rock, which has simple fresco decorations. Crowning the altar wall is a bas-relief of the Santissima Trinità.
The chapel is bordered by stone balustrades, which were considerably supplemented after the losses suffered due to vandalism.
By 1978, the altar had already been stripped and vandalised: in the space behind it, the wooden furnishings had disappeared, the stone balustrades fragmented or completely removed, and the Cristo, under the altar table, had disappeared.
The result of the attempted theft of the statue of the Vergine con Bambino, which fell to the ground and was abandoned there, was the damage that is still visible today on the front of the sculpture.
The statue of San Michele Arcangelo was still in situ, but with its right arm broken into fragments deposited on the altar table. The furnishings above the altar were lost.
Altar of Santa Maria della Consolazione
The altar of Santa Maria della Consolazione is located along the right nave, in the wall separating it from the small chapel of San Canione.
The decorative layout of the altar consists of a large central niche, with a round arch and at the sides, in two orders, four other smaller niches with a shell-shaped dome. In the large central niche, there is a high relief in calcarenite depicting the enthroned Madonna con Bambino, crowned by two angels; of the all-round sculptures originally placed in the smaller niches, only the one depicting Santa Lucia survives.
At the top of the wall, there is a bas-relief depicting the lo Spirito Santo.
Numerous and extensive traces of colour still remain on the carved stone.
The small space behind, at a lower level than the floor of the nave, is decorated with frescoes dating back to the 16th century consisting of panels depicting Santa Caterina, the Annunciazione, San Canione, Sant’ Augostino, Sant’ Eustachio, San Vito and a Santo Vescovo.
