santuario, mariano, diocesano, Santa Maria delle Grazie

In the heart of the Serre Calabresi, this diocesan Marian sanctuary rises with a Baroque dignity that feels both remote and intensely local. The original chapel was built in 1701 by Count Ruggero I the Norman, given to Basilian monks so they might pray for him. Then, in 1677, the Virgin appeared to two young shepherdesses returning from the little church, asking to be venerated there by peoples near and far. Pilgrimages began. A violent earthquake in 1783 destroyed the building, but the faithful continued to pray on the ruins. The present church was embellished over time with decorative paintings by Vincenzo Menichini and Carmelo Zimatore. On the high altar stands a wooden statue of the Virgin of Graces, a gift from King Vittorio Emanuele II, carried here on 30 June 1861. In 1857, the Madonna appeared again, this time in a dream to a local peasant woman. A place of recurring visions and stubborn devotion.

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