Shrine of the Madonna di Porto

Among the Marian shrines in Calabria, the Shrine of the Madonna di Porto in Gimigliano, in the province of Catanzaro, has a very special history.

Linked to the plague epidemic of 1626, the Shrine of the Madonna di Porto was built around the miraculous icon of the Madonna of Constantinople, which the painter Marco Pizzuto (known as ‘Marcangione’) found completed by himself after leaving it sketched. The image, among those defined as ‘’acheropite‘’, i.e. not painted by human hand, represents the Madonna breastfeeding and was initially placed in the church of Gimigliano, in the locality of ‘’Porto‘’.

The miraculous painting found its definitive place in 1753, when the Madonna appeared in a dream to a local brigand, a certain Pietro Gatto, who converted, changing his name to Fra' Costantino, and built a small chapel: the current Shrine of the Madonna di Porto.  

Today, the Shrine of Porto is the destination of a heartfelt Marian pilgrimage, culminating in the great Feast of Our Lady of Porto on the Tuesday after Pentecost.