In 1533 Antonello Gagini, with his workshop, made a Virgin Mary and Child for the cathedral. Made of white marble and decorated with gold, the sculptural group shows the typical features of the Gaginian style: the gentleness and delicacy of the faces, the flowing drapery and a distinct figurative elegance. On the base, there is a bas-relief depicting the dormitio of the Virgin and there are also portrayals of the commissioners of the work: Filippo Serio and his wife.
Antonello, son of Domenico, the latter originally from Lugano, grew up in Palermo and then moved to Messina where, between 1498 and 1507, his thriving sculpture workshop was based. Upon his return to Palermo, he established himself as one of the greatest sculptors of the Sicilian Renaissance, obtaining prestigious commissions all over the island, as well as in Calabria.
Another sculptural group is the funerary monument of Bishop Gioacchino Castelli, who ruled the diocese from 1755 to 1788, the year of his death.
The marble monument, sculpted by the artist Leonardo Pennino in 1790, depicts the bishop giving his robes to a beggar.
