santuario, basilica, Santuario Basilica Maria SS.ma della Cosolazione

On the highest ground of Reggio Calabria, in the district called Eremo, stands the Santuario Basilica Maria SS.ma della Cosolazione. Its position is splendid, and the church belongs to the Renaissance period, an era when many Italian sanctuaries were built or rebuilt to house venerated images. Inside, an icon of the Virgin, painted in 1547 by Nicolò Andrea Capriolo, shows her enthroned with the Christ Child, flanked by Saints Anthony of Padua and Francis of Assisi.

This image is the city’s patroness. Each year, on the second Saturday of September, after seven preparatory Saturdays, she is carried down from the sanctuary to the cathedral in Piazza Duomo. The following Tuesday, a great procession of pilgrims accompanies her through the streets. Ancient traditions are renewed: the city offers a votive candle during a solemn Mass. The Madonna remains in the cathedral until the last Sunday of November, when she is returned to the Eremo. During those months, the diocesan pastoral zones make their Saturday pilgrimages, and groups of priests, nuns, schoolchildren, the sick and the young come in their turn.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.