Convent of the Carmine - Municipal Art Gallery in Marsala

The Convent of the Carmine is a historical complex located in the western area of the city of Marsala, in the Annunziata district, where the Carmelites built the church and the convent.

The chosen area corresponds to the square called del Carmine (where the baroque Palazzo Grignani is also located) which is actually an almost rectangular widening that considerably widens a road of the ancient urban layout of Lilibeo.

The Bell Tower and the Convent, inside the Cloister.

There is no certain information regarding the arrival in Marsala of the friars of the Carmelite order.

It is asserted from many quarters that they arrived in Sicily quite early in the wake of Queen Adelasia del Vasto, who married King Baldwin I of Jerusalem in 1113 and returned the following year, bringing with them some friars of the order.

At the end of the thirteenth century, the friars were certainly in western Sicily, where they seem to have arrived in 1224 and where starting from 1315 they built the church and their convent outside the walls, which became a pole of attraction and a destination for pilgrimages in honor of the Madonna called of Trapani, a work by Nino Pisano of the fourteenth century.

In Marsala there is no trace of the Carmelite church and monastery, where the friars settled on their arrival.

The few information on the order are reported by historians, but they only agree on a rather dubious date, such as 1154/1155 or about 1200. The Carmelite complex that has come down to us is made up of three significant parts: the church, the convent and the bell tower.

Today, the convent of Carmine is the seat of the City of Marsala Contemporary Painting Exhibition, and recently hosted the works of the Milanese painter Fabrizio Clerici, and temporary exhibitions are held.

The permanent collection is also exhibited inside. It is also the Representative Office of the Municipality of Marsala, and inside is the representative room where civil weddings are celebrated today.

Until some time ago, the Church was the seat of the historical archive of the city, today transferred to the municipal library.

The Pro loco will be transferred in its place. The bell tower still belongs to the Curia (Diocese of Mazara del Vallo), currently it is closed but it will soon be possible to visit it.

Map: Convent of the Carmine - Municipal Art Gallery in Marsala