The Soccorso Church

The Church of Santa Maria del soccorso is an ancient Augustinian convent from the sixteenth century, and tourists  describe it in this  way: “This is undoubtedly the most beautiful and most charming church of Forio and the whole island… its broad churchyard, its panoramic terrace; there are no other examples of its main façade. Above it follows the curve of the barrel valut of the nave’s covering connected at the center to the base of the cross. On the two sides the curve ends with two barely sketched scrolls, as if a distracted stucco worker forgot to finish them. The right side continues with a scarp wall buttress, while the left side incorporates the small bell tower with the pyramid-shaped spire…at the center of the churchyard, thorugh two curved flights of stairs the entrance to the church is reached: the landing with a semi elliptical plan projects forward and the parapet is entirely covered with cermaics; a large stairway gives access to the parvis…The lateral facades are different in their symmetrical asymmetry with buttresses, barbicans, cupolas, small roofs, square – shaped windows rectangular, circular and oval.