Shrine of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli

The Shrine of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli is located in the historical centre of Rende (Rende Paese or Rende Vecchio), in the province of Cosenza.

Among the Marian shrines in Calabria, the Shrine of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli was built around 1600 and is an important place of devotion for the entire province. The title of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli (or Our Lady of Constantinople) refers to the arrival in the West of sacred oriental icons depicting the Virgin, introduced by Byzantine monks from Constantinople (present-day Istanbul).

Local devotion to St Mary of Constantinople dates back to the plague of 1656, when the people of Rendia bought a statue of the Madonna from the nearby village of San Fili. The Madonna Odigitria (with ‘’Blessing Child‘’) is described by critics as a ‘’stain‘’ because of its distinctive copper-coloured background and sketchy forms.

The façade of the building is ‘’gabled‘’, with a polychrome window depicting the Virgin; on the right side is the sacristy, surmounted by the bell tower. The interior has a Latin cross plan and is richly decorated: the high altar is in polychrome marble; the dome is frescoed with a work by Achille Capizzano depicting the Madonna in Glory.

The paintings on canvas and panel in the choir loft, 18th-century works by Cristoforo Santanna, are of great value. The Shrine of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli also houses a museum space that exhibits sacred vestments and silver objects dating between the 17th and 18th centuries.

On the occasion of the feast day, the Shrine of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli is at the centre of a pilgrimage that is very popular with the faithful, who follow the procession through the streets of the ‘’Borgo dei Musei‘’.