Santuario di Maria Santissima di Capo d'Orlando

On October 22, 1598, a wanderer appeared on the top of the mountain in front of the castle, who began blowing a bugle, which was usually used to warn of pirate raids. Since there was no threat, the guards thought he was crazy and tried to calm him down, but he broke free and ran away. One of the officers recognized the pilgrim as a hermit known as Saint Kono from the city of Naso. While running away, the troublemaker left his bag, and the guards found a box decorated with images of Archangel Michael and St. Francis Paolas. Inside the box was a tiny statue of the Virgin Mary, a scaled-down replica of the miraculous Madonna of Trapani. Then the miracles began. Antonio Piccolo, prefect of Orlando, asked Madonna to rid the settlement entrusted to him of the smallpox epidemic, which happened. After learning about the miracle, the city of Naso presented the rights to the statuette. However, the city was immediately hit by an earthquake, which was considered a sign that the statue needed to be returned to Capo d'Orlando.

Bishop Francesco Vellardi della Conca ordered the construction of a church on the site, which was built in less than a year, and on October 22, 1600, the bishop consecrated it in the name of St. Mary. Sources of the time report that about 20 thousand pilgrims from Sicily gathered for the opening of the sanctuary and Calabria. The procession that brought the image to the church consisted of 300 soldiers, the route was decorated with arches of flowers and branches, and the action was accompanied by musketry and fortress guns.

In the sanctuary, the Madonna was placed in a stone niche decorated with gold. Since that day, October 22 has become a city holiday. On December 11, 1925, the miraculous statuette was stolen, and a silver replica was made instead, which can now be seen in the altar of the church. The temple houses two paintings by Gaspare Camarades of the Antonello da Messina school.: "The Crucifixion between two praying monks" from 1627 behind the altar and "The Adoration of the Shepherds" from 1626 in one of the side chapels. Unfortunately, the church was closed and I could only look through the window.

The story of the wanderer who brought a wonderful image is worthy of special mention. San Cono was born during the reign of Roger II of Sicily, his parents belonged to the noble families of Naso, and he was the sole heir to their fortune. However, after reading the gospel, at the age of 15, the young man decided to devote his life to serving God and joined a monastery. When his parents died and their property passed to him, he sold everything, donating the proceeds to the poor. And he retired to a cave, where he lived as a hermit, eating exclusively herbs. In his old age, his peace was disturbed - a girl from a noble family in the city of Naso fell into fornication and lost her virginity out of wedlock, and when it became known, she accused the pious hermit of rape. The elder was taken out of the cave, tried, and publicly flogged in the town square. When the execution was over, the hermit took off his rags, and the astonished townspeople saw a slender body without any signs of beatings.

The church is located on top of a cliff and is surrounded by the ruins of a fortress, with a wide staircase leading up to it. I did not find any work schedule on it, a local resident said that it only opens on Sundays for evening Mass at 21 o'clock. The church is located on a platform with cast-iron railings, from which stunning panoramas of the coast and islands come off.