SHARRYLAND
The shrine of St. Mary of the Star
An extraordinarily evocative place for religious memories and environmental beauty
Where is
From Basilian hermitage to Catholic shrine
North of the town of Pazzano, in an elevated position, is the cave-sanctuary of Santa Maria della Stella (m 682). The history of the place begins in the 8th century as a Basilian hermitage , erected into a monastery in the Norman period. Later, sanctioning the transition from Orthodox to Catholic worship, Byzantine icons were replaced by a full-length statue of Our Lady to whom thaumaturgic powers were attributed. The shrine is accessed by descending a flight of 62 steps carved into the stone. The cave is rich in stalactites and with walls at human height filled with inscriptions and votive drawings. Attached to the hermitage is a small church inside which a 17th-century altar in red marble surmounted by an impressive altarpiece can be admired.The legend of the Madonna of the Star
The arrival of the statue in Pazzano is surrounded by an aura of legend. In fact, it is handed down that the ship on which it was embarked inexplicably stopped in Monasterace. From it radiated toward the mountain a star-like light that was interpreted as a portentous sign about the destination of that sacred image. When the statue arrived at its destination, water began to gush from the cave, and the miracle was that the jars used to collect it never became full.. So it was that the water, like the statue of Our Lady was attributed thaumaturgical powers.
A sculpture of the high Sicilian school.
Placed within a 17th-century altar of pink marble, the miraculous statue of Our Lady also deserves attention for its artistic value. Placed in the sanctuary in 1522, it is the acknowledged work of Rinaldo Bonanno, an important sculptor from Messina who was active in the second half of the 16th century and the author of numerous wooden and marble statues destined for Sicilian and Calabrian churches. Of historical interest, on the other hand, is a fragment of a Byzantine-era fresco depicting a popular episode from the early centuries of Christianity, St. Mary of Egypt who, after expiating her dissolute life in solitude, receives the Eucharist from the monk Zosimus.
The great pilgrimage of the Assumption
On Aug. 15 each year, the faithful ascend in procession to the shrine for the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, which takes up the tradition of the Byzantine Dormitio Virginis. Participants take a path from the Old Fountain of Pazzano up almost to the top of the mountain. It is an important event not only for the towns of the Stilaro valley, but for all of Calabria, with pilgrims sometimes arriving from as far away as Sicily.
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Enter the Map of Italy's Undiscovered Wonders and find treasures where you least expect it... Inspire, Recommend, Share...
