Scilla: Santa Maria di Porto Salvo in Chianalea
She is Our Lady of the Sailors, whose intercession is asked for the swordfish season, then honoring her with solemnities and fireworks
Where
What is it and where is the church of Santa Maria di Porto Salvo
In the heart of the village of Chianalea, the church of Our Lady of Porto Salvo witnesses one of the most heartfelt devotions of its inhabitants. This is clear from the specific title of the Virgin Mary, here in the role of patroness of seafarers with particular reference to swordfish fishermen. The town chronicles, to be precise, document as early as the 17th century the existence of a seafaring confraternity, which is credited with the construction of the church that came to have five altars. Rebuilt in style after the 1908 earthquake, it retains two: the major one, with an 18th-century altarpiece of the Madonna of Porto Salvo, crowned, against the backdrop of the Rock of Scylla; and the one on which stands a wooden Crucifix of remarkable workmanship.
Not to be missed: the August festivities.
Having long since ceased the activity of the Confraternity, the community devotion remains and is expressed in a moment of high symbolic value. Our Lady of Porto Salvo, venerated in the maritime cities of Central and Southern Italy, but especially in Calabria, is in fact celebrated in Scilla on the last Sunday of August with religious solemnities culminating in thecrowning of the Madonna and Child, and in the homage to Saints Cosmas and Damian, who are traditionally associated with her, thaumaturges and anargyrs, an appellation, the latter, due to those who practiced the art of medicine gratis et amore Dei.
At the end of the ceremony, the procession with Our Lady and the Saints makes its way among the faithful who crowd the churchyard and takes the narrow street that descends in steps to the Fishing Boat slipway. Here, facing the sea, those who did not return to port are commemorated and intercession is asked for a good fishing season by entrusting a blessed crown to the sea. Having exhausted the religious honors, it is the civic band that introduces the festivities. Come evening, the grand finale with fireworks over the sea.
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Collections
The Map thanks:
Scilla, dove peschiamo sorrisi – Comune di Scilla – PNRR Ministero della Cultura M1C3, Mis. 2, Inv. 2.1 “Attrattività dei borghi storici” – Finanziato dall’Unione europea, NextGenerationEU – CUP: F79I22000150006 – CIG B8DCA761AB
In the Community
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