Shrine of the Madonna di Capocolonna
Place of worship
Santuario Madonna di Capocolonna, Crotone - Valeria Rogliano
The Shrine of the Madonna di Capocolonna is located near the archaeological area of the same name, the National Archaeological Park of ‘Capo Colonna’, Lacinio promontory, in the municipal territory of the city of Crotone.
The Shrine of the Madonna di Capocolonna overlooks the Ionian Sea, along the beautiful Costa dei Saraceni. The present church once housed the much venerated icon of the Madonna di Capocolonna, which is now kept in the Cathedral of Crotone and is the subject of a very popular procession in May, from the city to the shrine.
Every seven years, the procession undergoes a variation: the return is not made by sea, but by an oxen-drawn cart that follows the same route as the faithful, in a nocturnal pilgrimage.
The miraculous icon is the object of one of the most heartfelt Marian veneration in Calabria: the ‘painting of the Madonna’ represents a Black Virgin, a Byzantine Madonna (10th century).
The Shrine of the Madonna di Capocolonna was built in its present form to a design by Anselmo Berlingeri. It was originally erected by Basilian monks between the 11th and 13th centuries and remodelled several times until the 19th century.
