santuario, Santuario di Maria SS.ma del Monte Saraceno

On a rocky spur of Monte Volturino, some 1,320 metres up, the Santuario di Maria Santissima del Monte Saraceno commands a sweeping view over the valley towards Viggiano and Caperrino. The sanctuary was founded around 1150 by Benedictine monks, who built it near a military post first held by the Lombards and later by the Saracens, hence the mountain’s name. The present architectural layout dates from a 15th-century rebuild; the main wooden portal was renewed in 1999, and the liturgical furnishings were replaced in 2010.

Approached by a steep, short road, the church retains an ancient tradition: pilgrims must circle its perimeter three times, chanting and singing hymns that echo the earliest Benedictine practices. The sanctuary lies about eight kilometres from Calvello, and serves as the destination for the town’s most important procession, carrying the statue of the Madonna del Monte from the mother church in the second week of May, and returning it on 8 September.

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