 Maria SS. Annunziata is the protector with San Biagio of Bronte and the Sanctuary dedicated to her is the pride of our town. It continues to be, as it has been since 1535, the year of the reunion in Bronte of the inhabitants of the 24 Casali, the place of common "identity", where to find comfort and hope.
The exterior of the church is built in lava stone masonry, has a large hemispherical pointed dome with a lantern and a gabled roof with wooden trusses.
Leaning against the left side of the facade, and annexed to it, is the delightful Oratorio di Gesù e Maria (Oratory of Jesus and Mary), home to the Confraternity of the same name.
The sanctuary dedicated to Maria SS. Annunziata is built in lava stone masonry, a big hemispheric dome has a pointed arch with lantern and the gable roof with wooden trusses. The inside of the church has one only nave, it has eight altars and two chapels, one in front of the other, a square presbytery ante-chorus, and, at the end of the chorus, one astonishing altar, (of the same sandstone as the entry door), which contains the statues of the Madonna and the angel. Masterpieces of inestimable value are kept in the church: worthy works of Renaissance taste to be signaled among the artistically most beautiful expressions in Sicily. The nave, with polychrome coffered ceiling with gildings, is surmounted by the entries of two chapels dedicated to Christ at The Column and San Giuseppe. The square transept preceding the choir is surmounted by a circular drum with windows on which the dome stands.
The large arches of the chapels and altars, which symmetrically adorn the walls, are rich in plastic ornaments and enclose precious paintings. The interior space is divided into eight bays by a composite-style apparatus, which also describes the arches along the side walls within which the altars and chapels are located. The roof is flat with a polychrome coffered design, while the transept is covered by a dome. Of particular interest is the high altar, where the sculptural group of the Annunciation, the work of Antonio Gagini, is housed within a Renaissance-style arch-portal. The big arches of the chapels and the altars, which symmetrically adorn the walls, are enriched by plastic ornaments; the altars adorned with beautiful pictures.
The altars
 All the altars are adorned with large and artistic works of art. The painting of the Madonna delle Grazie with Saints is very beautiful (from 1646, attributed to G. Tommasio, position no. 11 on the map on the right).
Also noteworthy are the paintings of Jesus and Mary (no. 7), first and second entering from the left, and those, placed on the sides of the entrance opposite the main altar, representing Saint Ursula (no. 13, from 1580) and the Madonna degli Angeli (no. 14) with Saint Francis of Assisi in the Capuchin habit and Saint Clare and between them the town of Bronte saved from the devastating wrath of Etna (the work, by the painter Tommasio, is from 1650, «Joseph Thomasius pingebat 1650»). Below we give you a brief mention of all of them.
Entering, from the right you find  the painting of the Madonna degli Angeli (see no. 14 on the map on the right). It depicts the Virgin, seated on a cloud and crowned by angels, who holds the blessing Child upright on her left leg.
Below, dressed in the Franciscan habit, the two saints of Assisi: St. Francis and St. Clare (also depicted in a bas-relief in the chapel of St. Joseph) and, at the bottom center, a glimpse of the town of Bronte miraculously saved from the fury of Etna.
The canvas measures 276 cm x 170 and is the work of the painter Giuseppe Tommasi (1610-1672) from Tortorici, as can be read at the bottom left of the painting: "Joseph Thomasius pingebat 1650".
Another beautiful painting by G. Tommasi (St. Benedict) is preserved in the church of San Silvestro, while in that of Santa Maria della Catena there is the Martyrdom of St. Stephen, a copy made in 1876 by Agostino Attinà from an original by Giuseppe Tommasi from 1646.
Immediately after, on the side wall (where the bell tower door once was) there is the altar of the Nativity of Jesus with the painting of the same name (no. 12 on the map);  the altar of St. Martin of Tours (point 8) with a beautiful painting of St. Martin (depicted at the feet of the Madonna between St. Giacinto and St. Barbara). Radice writes in his Memoirs... (Memorie storiche di Bronte) that the painting was «made on behalf of the procurator Sac. Giacinto Naviga. To the left of St. Martin is St. Barbara, to the right is St. Giacinto, in the lower part of the painting is a coat of arms: a three-oared boat, sailing in a stormy sea; part of the inscription is covered by the frame, only it reads: D. Hiacyntus P. Viator fieri curavit. That "P." is interpreted Pelagi viator, and would mean the name "Naviga: whims of the reverend who has artistically symbolized his name.»
The chapel of Christ at the Column (number 6 on the map, some write that it existed before the construction of the church).
The Chapel opens with a travertine arch all in gilded bas-relief and differently colored, with the pediment surmounted by three spires worked to flower patterns.
Vases with several friezes and flowers on the inside and outside adorn the columns; those of the base to the right are supported by winged lions, those to left by animals with sphinx face, rather than lions. The travertine arch, very beautiful work of art of the Renaissance, is placed in the room of the big entry to the chapel, which makes presume that it was taken there and raised afterwards.
In the niche of the chapel is found the statue of Cristo alla Colonna, which, according to some people, was taken from the church of the SS. Christ, above San Vito, buried by the lava. The tradition says that it is the work of a brontese shepherd.
The statue, in paper-pulp, shows Christ in natural size, with hands tied to the back, bound to a column, the bleeding body covered with sores and the face expressing human pain. The work evokes with great realism the drama of the passion; every year, on Venerdì Santo (Holy Friday), it is taken on to a very heavy wooden frame in procession; he precedes all the other statues: the Crucifix, Christ Dead and the Grieved Lady. At point 4 of the map we find the altar of St. Ignatius of Loyola, enclosed within a valuable Renaissance arch, with an eighteenth-century statue. Worthy of note is the artistic head of the Saint: it represents, especially in the eyes, a wonderful example of figurative perfection. The painting, hanging in a niche immediately after the altar of St. Ignatius, represents St. Apollonia, the Patron Saint of dentists and those who suffer from toothache. It probably comes from the now disappeared church of S. Maria della Venia or della Vina, a small sanctuary (as B. Radice defines it), located a little higher up than the cemetery, where there was an altar dedicated to St. Apollonia. It is the work, as can be read, at the bottom center, of Sebastianus Calanna. On the left of the nave you can see  The altar with the painting of Saint Ursula from 1580 (placed on the left wall next to the entrance door, no. 13 on the map).
The Saint, surrounded by her companions in martyrdom and by Pope Ciriaco, according to traditional iconography is represented as a princess, in royal clothes, with a crown on her head and with a white banner with a red cross, as a sign of victory over death through martyrdom.
In the lower right part the painter (Sebastiano De Torres for p. Gesualdo De Luca; Joseph De Foneos for Benedetto Radice; both illustrious unknowns to us) painted his self-portrait in the act of praying (photo on the right).
The altar of the Madonna della Grazie (first altar on the left, see no. 11): the painting, from 1646, attributed to Giuseppe Tomasio, is very beautiful; depicts the Madonna with, at her feet, on the left, Saint Andrew the Apostle and Saint Benigno of Dijon, priest and martyr, and, on the right, Saint Dominic and Saint Francis.
 «I believe - writes Radice - that the author of the painting is that Giuseppe Tommasio, who at that time painted the beautiful painting of Saint Benedict in the Monastero di Santa Scolastica and the paintings of Saint Philip Neri and Saint Stephen in the Church of the Catena».
At the bottom left, the painter painted at the feet of Saint Andrew the portrait of the church chaplain and patron of the painting, the priest D. Francesco Lazzaro, with this epigraph: "c opus fieri fecit rev. Dominus Franciscus Lazzaro 1646". With this noble gesture of his, in some way, this patron still lives and we show him to you in the photo on the right.
Furthermore, Don Francesco Lazzaro is the one who, with a solemn act dated "Die 29 Julii X Ind. 1642 in civitate Montis Regalis" received the relic of the Santo Capello (Holy Hair) to «be displayed in the said Church of the Annunciation of the said land, and to be carried in procession as many times as necessary, so that it may be adored and venerated by the faithful of both sexes, as much in the said Church, as in all and better other Churches of the said land.» The altar of Jesus and Mary (point 7 on the map) with the painting of the same name that symbolizes the Redemption (all the symbols of the Passion of Christ are reproduced there).  The Chapel of St. Joseph (photo on the right, no. 5 on the map): the two bas-reliefs, at the base of the lateral columns, represent St. Agnes on the left (iconographically depicted with the palm of her martyrdom and a lamb in her arms) and St. Clare on the right, who in her left hand holds a lantern (her symbol) and with her right shows three fingers to symbolize the Holy Trinity (St. Clare is also depicted with St. Francis in the painting of the Madonna degli Angeli); to be admired on the front of the altar is a delightful bas-relief depicting the "flight into Egypt".
The altar of St. Michael the Archangel (no. 3 on the map) with a valuable arch in elegant baroque style; the two bas-reliefs, at the base of the lateral columns, represent, supported by two angels, St. Ignatius bishop of Antioch (on the right), and St. Polycarp bishop of Smyrna (on the left).
The statue of the Archangel recalls the homologous statue of the Mother Church and both statues are inspired by the archangel (played by a child) who, to the monotonous rhythm of a drum, opens the Good Friday procession every year. Immediately after the altar of St. Michael the Archangel is the entrance door to the sacristy (2). At the back of the choir stands the high altar dedicated to the Annunciation (point 1 on the map).subito dopo l'altare di S. Michele Arcangelo trovasi la porta d'ingresso della sacrestia (2).
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Inside the church, on the main altar (point no. 1 of the above map), surmounted by a travertine arch since 1549, is placed the Annunciation (marble group of the Virgin of the Annunciation, the Angel Gabriel and a kneeler, the work of the Palermo sculptor Antonio Gagini), to which the people of Bronte are devotedly linked by feelings of common identity and ancient and profound religiosity.
This beautiful Renaissance work of art (a medallion bears the date 1549 at the bottom) was previously placed in the space of the large arch of the chapel of Christ at the Column but its original location is unknown.
The Annunciation by Gagini is a work of great value and beauty: it is part of that Renaissance artistic trend that in the Gaginian school merged with the new forms of Tuscan and Roman Mannerism.
Around this difficult and troublesome transport, devotion and above all popular imagination have created numerous legends.
A restoration and cleaning project of the marble group of the Annunciation by Gagini and the Renaissance arch was presented to the people of Bronte 
The Bronte's people were always very devotional to their patron Maria S
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