Piazza Armerina Cathedral

On 25 July 1090, Count Roger the Norman, after defeating the Saracens in a favourable battle, entered Caltagirone in triumph and, in memory of his victory, erected a temple to St. James the Apostle, to whom he entrusted the protection of the town. Rebuilt several times due to strong earthquakes and also by the bombings of the last war, the Basilica of San Giacomo has an elegant baroque façade with a bronze door of contemporary art. At the end of the 19th century it was enriched with a bell tower decorated with four statues representing the four evangelists.

The original church of San Giuliano, according to tradition, was built in the Norman period with an adjoining bell tower, with a single nave decorated with Arab-Norman stucco and with the apse facing east. The temple is dated to 1282, in the middle of the Aragonese period, thanks to the inscription on the architrave at the entrance, which mentions the name of the architect Magister Gofredus. This is probably the date of one of the first documented reconstructions: other reconstructions took place after the earthquake of Anno Domini 1542 in the Val di Noto, and after the Val di Noto earthquake of 1693. In the second half of the 18th century, the outer walls were decorated with two artistic stone portals, designed by the architect Natale Bonaiuto of Syracuse. In 1816, Pope Pius VII issued the papal bull Romanus Pontifex, erecting the diocese of Caltagirone and raising the church of San Giuliano to the rank of cathedral.

The foundations of the first monastery date back to 1550 and were built in the Semini district. However, the brothers had to leave it immediately. In 1866, when the monastery was abolished, the friars were forced to leave the monastery and the church, which was not reopened until 14 November 1955.