santuario, diocesano, Santuario della Spina Santa

On the broad, raised piazza of Annunziata Mercato, this church commands its setting from an elevated position, reached by a monumental staircase. Its origins are uncertain: a church dedicated to Santa Maria existed within the castle of Giffoni as early as the 10th century, and a later Santa Maria de Camporaso may correspond to the present building. The first certain record dates from 1511, placing the Santuario della Spina Santa within the Renaissance period.

The sanctuary’s spiritual life revolves around the Passion of Christ, with an annual settenario in September honouring the Holy Thorn and the Exaltation of the Cross. A procession of the relic and meditations on the Passion mark the occasion, alongside the conferral of the “Lux Caritatis” award to those distinguished in charity and service. In 2021, the archbishop elevated the parish church to a diocesan sanctuary. The result is a place where local devotion meets a wider, quietly dramatic liturgical tradition.

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