Convent of the hundred arches

The convent of the hundred arches was built in the 11th century by a congregation of Basilian monks. The name is given to it by the presence in the past of about a hundred arches that adorned the structure. In the late Middle Ages the architectural complex fell into disrepair and was then rebuilt and transformed into a Franciscan convent. Inside, a grandiose and well-stocked library flourished, which was second in size in Sicily. In the nineteenth century, however, the convent was again and definitively abandoned, and today only a few perimeter walls remain in ruins. In the fascist era, the cloister area was transformed into a park of remembrances in memory of the victims of World War I. Attached to the convent are the remains of the church of Santa Maria di Gesù, which housed two Gaginian sculptural works now preserved in the Mother Church. Today the convent is used as an auditorium.