Single-nave church with attached rooms related to the Capuchin Hospice. Beyond the central altar—the only one existing since its construction—there are two side altars: one on the left upon entering, dedicated to St. Mary of Mercy, and one on the right, dedicated to St. Andrew Avellino. The main façade is flanked by a bell tower rebuilt in 1954, replacing the one destroyed by the 1908 earthquake.
**Description:** The Madonna holds the Child Jesus in her left arm, surrounded by angels, two of whom crown her. Both Mary and the Child Jesus have gold crowns placed on their heads. These objects were crafted from the gold of ex-votos offered by the faithful and are the work of the Beato Angelico School of Art in Milan. At the feet of the Madonna, to her left, a ship is depicted sailing safely.
**First use:** Between 1600 and 1650
**Image:** Painting
**Original location of the Sanctuary:** Four rooms adjacent to the sanctuary (in the rear area), once part of the Hospice built in 1850 and entrusted to the Reformed Capuchin Fathers, were used to store ex-votos; today, they serve as the residence of the sanctuary’s rector.
**Notes on the collection:** Most of the gold objects were stolen in 1985, except those used to forge the two crowns placed on the painting. Only items donated from 1985 onward remain.
**Types of ex-votos:** Goldsmithing objects, anthropomorphic figurines, real or represented prosthetics
**Current preservation:** The sanctuary’s rector keeps them in his residence.
The construction of the 17th-century sanctuary was preceded by the erection of a small church in 1637, in an unspecified nearby location, at the behest of the Alberti Marquises of Pentidattilo.
According to popular tradition, the painting of the Madonna arrived on the shores of Melito by sea from Turkey in ancient times. It is also said that a girl from Melito, kidnapped by the Turks, was allowed by the Madonna—to whom the young woman constantly prayed—to return to her homeland on a small boat, aboard which she had embarked with an effigy of the Blessed Virgin Mary. At the landing site, the people erected a shrine, and later, the sanctuary was built there.
**LACAVA 1983, pp. 6-7 (see bibliography).** Another legend recounts that toward the end of the 1700s, a small boat with seven corsairs appeared off the coast of Melito, attempting to attack a grain-laden ship. A man named Giacomo Evoli, from his property in Maiorana, noticed the event and fired upon the pirates, killing them. When the pirates returned with seven galleys to avenge their fallen comrades, through the intervention of the Madonna—who unleashed a storm—they all perished in the shipwreck of their vessels, except one who survived to recount and pass down the miraculous event.
**1680** – Construction begins under Marquis Domenico Alberti.
**1857** – The Capuchin Friars arrive to manage the new Hospice.
**1872** – The sanctuary’s entrance is widened to allow the vara (processional float) to enter the church safely.
**1908** – The earthquake that destroyed Reggio and Messina damages the sanctuary.
**April 25, 1930** – Decree elevating the church to a diocesan sanctuary.
**1954** – The new bell tower is built.
Between 1904 and 1930, the sanctuary was affiliated with the new parish of St. Joseph in Annà di Melito, while maintaining its own administration. Since April 25, 1930, it has been under archiepiscopal jurisdiction.
After the construction of the Hospice in 1850, the Dittereo of Pentidattilo called a community of Reformed Franciscan Friars, known as Capuchins, to the sanctuary. They took possession of the site in January 1857 and served zealously in the sanctuary until around 1915. Previously, between 1680 and 1857, the spiritual care of the sanctuary had been carried out by secular clergy.
Via della Conciliazione, 2, 89048 Siderno RC, Italy
