santuario, diocesano, Santuario di Maria SS.ma di Monte Carmelo

The Santuario di Maria SS.ma di Monte Carmelo occupies a church that, by tradition, was built in the ninth century, alongside the settlement of Cetraro itself. At that time, the area was part of the Lombard principality of Salerno, a domain that, despite Saracen raids, extended as far as Amantea. The original dedication was to San Nicola di Bari.

In July 2001, on the 750th anniversary of the Scapular, the parish church was formally elevated to a diocesan sanctuary. The decree expressed a desire to offer Cetraro a particular sign of faith, proposing the Madonna del Carmine as a ‘star of the new evangelisation’ and the surest path to Christ.

The sanctuary preserves ex-voto offerings donated for graces received. Among them are goldsmiths’ objects and a set of the city’s keys, wrought in gold and presented on 16 July 1962, in memory of the 125th anniversary of the cholera morbus from which Cetraro’s inhabitants were spared. The principal feast, preceded by a novena, is celebrated on 16 July.

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