Shrine of the Madonna del Pettoruro
Place of worship
Santuario della Madonna del Pettoruto, San Sosti - Regione Calabria
The Shrine of the Madonna del Pettoruto is an important Marian shrine in Calabria, a pilgrimage destination in the municipality of San Sosti, in the province of Cosenza.
Located in the gorge of the Rosa River, at the foot of Mount Mula (543 m), the Shrine of Pettoruto was built at the behest of Bishop Felice Greco between 1824 and 1840.
The façade of the building reflects various stylistic influences, while the interior is decorated with sculptures and frescoes dedicated to the Miraculous Madonna.
According to legend, the Shrine is linked to the figure of a certain Nicola Mairo, originally from the nearby town of Altomonte, who was unjustly accused of murder and took refuge on the mountaintop. Here he had an apparition of the Madonna and Child, which he decided to engrave on a tuffaceous rock, of which trace was later lost. The effigy was rediscovered in 1600 by a shepherd boy, a certain Giuseppe Labbazia from Scalea.
On the exact spot of the miraculous apparition, the Shrine of the Madonna del Pettoruto was built, a place of pilgrimage all year round, especially in the first week of September, when the traditional fair in honour of the Madonna takes place, and on the first Sunday in May, when the so-called "Cinta", the intercession of the Madonna against natural disasters, is celebrated.
