Badia Nuova, Baroque monastery in Alcamo, Italy

Badia Nuova is a Baroque monastery in Alcamo composed of chapels and prayer spaces furnished with altars and religious artworks. The building displays characteristic Baroque features with decorated details throughout its interior layout.

The church was founded in 1531 by Father Filippo Scamacca, and the adjoining convent of Saint Francis of Paola was built between 1563 and 1567. In 1567 Sister Margherita De Montesa arrived with four nuns from the Santissimo Salvatore convent and became the first abbess. The church was demolished in 1699 and rebuilt from 1724 under the Trapani architect Giovanni Biagio Amico; it was restored after the 1968 Belice earthquake, and the convent, suppressed in 1866, was later reopened.

The nuns follow the rule "ora et labora", working in the kitchen garden and convent workshops: sewing, knitting, embroidery, repair of holy objects, wine from their own vineyards, and sweets candied with pumpkin and figs for holidays. They once heard Mass behind high grids; now they are in the church each morning, and believers may join the Liturgy of the Hours and Lectio Divina on request.

You can visit the monastery during regular hours and should dress appropriately since it remains an active religious site. It helps to move quietly through the spaces and follow any posted guidelines for visitors.

The eight stucco allegories by Giacomo Serpotta, made in 1724, keep their allustratura, a patina lost on many of his other works, which gives them the look of alabaster. Ernesto Basile called Serpotta "the king of stucco".