Built at the behest of Leonardo V di Tocco, prince of Montemiletto, in the second half of the 18th century, the religious building was consecrated in 1773 by the Archbishop of Benevento, becoming a parish the following year. These events formed the basis for the territorial unification of the farmhouse of Pratola with the ancient medieval village of Serra, at the time divided from an administrative, feudal and ecclesial point of view and whose confluence into a single reality was sanctioned in 1 read more
Built at the behest of Leonardo V di Tocco, prince of Montemiletto, in the second half of the 18th century, the religious building was consecrated in 1773 by the Archbishop of Benevento, becoming a parish the following year. These events formed the basis for the territorial unification of the farmhouse of Pratola with the ancient medieval village of Serra, at the time divided from an administrative, feudal and ecclesial point of view and whose confluence into a single reality was sanctioned in 1812, with the establishment of the Municipality of Pratola Serra.
The Church of Maria SS. Addolorata, today, is distinguished by its eighteenth-century facade, preserved by repeated restorations and flanked by an imposing three-level bell tower, surmounted by a hemispherical dome. Its imposing stone portal is surmounted by a magnificent coat of arms of the Tocco family and an inscription in Latin, dedicated to Santa Maria, which mentions the construction of the religious building by order of Leonardo V.
Inside there is an inlaid polychrome marble frontal which, according to local tradition, would come from a church in Gesualdo. To complete the list of works of art present in the Church, there are some nineteenth-century statues, paintings dating back to the eighteenth century and a remarkable altar.
Symbol of the unification between the two inhabited centres, the Church of Maria Santissima Addolorata is a place of worship very dear to the local community. read less
