Madonna della Scala Sanctuary in Castellammare del Golfo

Stories and legends cover the entire island of Sicily, daughters of an ancient past made up of dominations but also of conquests: archaeological sites, museums, villages and churches abound on the Sicilian territory, set in an extraordinary landscape context dominated by the profile of the Etna volcano .

Among the prettiest villages on the western coast of Sicily there is Castellammare del Golfo, where there is a place that Christian belief has made one of the most frequented by the Christian faithful: it is the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Scala, located in a panoramic position overlooking the entire village.

Sanctuary of the Madonna della Scala: historical notes

The Sanctuary of the Madonna della Scala dates back to the XNUMXth century and its birth is linked to a legend. It is said that one evening in September 1641 the young woman Maria d'Angelo, while grazing her flock of sheep, was surprised by a violent storm. She then decided to take shelter in a cave that had just formed due to a bolt of lightning that had fallen to the ground: once inside she found a precious reliquary studded with gems and containing an image of the Virgin Mary with Child. When the storm passed, Maria d'Angelo left the cave to meet her parents who in the meantime had started looking for her.
The box was brought by the girl to Francesco Di Maria, the archpriest of Castellammare del Golfo and, around this miraculous discovery, a church was built by the Benedictine fathers.

The Sanctuary of the Madonna della Scala was subsequently restored several times, in 1976 by Sebastiano Lo Giudice, then a year later when the roof collapsed due to a fire and then in 1998 by Giacomo Navarra: on this occasion the staircase of 147 steps which leads to the Sanctuary.

Architecture of the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Scala

The name of the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Scala refers to the presence of the staircase that overcomes the sloping ground: being excellently lit, it can also be walked on in the evening.

From the outside the church appears extremely simple: it is very small, yellow and white in colour, with a small circular window just above the entrance portal.
Inside there is a copy of the icon of the Virgin found by Maria d'Angelo: the original was in fact stolen. Around this image takes place every year, on September 8th, the feast of the Madonna della Scala: it is an event that is part of the culture and traditions of Castellammare del Golfo, complete with procession and tasting of tag them, that is, pasta with broad beans.

What to see in the surroundings of the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Scala

The Sanctuary of the Madonna della Scala is located in Castellammare del Golfo, a village in the province of Trapani located 200 m. tall in the shade of Mount Inici.

Among the things to see in addition to the Sanctuary, there is the Mother Church built on a small tufaceous cliff at 25 m. tall, very sober in its classical style and guardian of 9 altars, a wooden crucifix and frescoes by Tresca and Velasquez.
Then there are the Church of Our Lady of Grace, located near the town's Villa Comunale and with an XNUMXth century painting of the Virgin Mary inside, the Church of St. Joseph , Church of Our Lady of the Rosary from 1100, guardian of a 500th century bas-relief attributed to the sculptor Gagini.
Next to the same Church of the Madonna del Rosario stands the Arab Norman Castle, built in the XNUMXth century by the Arabs, and then restored first by the Normans and then by the Swabians. It hosts the Museum - The memory of the Mediterranean and in the past it was called "Castello a Mare" because it was almost completely surrounded by the sea.
Equally interesting is the Small Museum of the Sea, linked to the life of the fishermen of Castellammare del Golfo.

Finally, you cannot leave the town without spending a day at the seaside. The beach easily reachable from the center of Castellammare del Golfo is the beach of Cala Petrolo, a small cove to be admired.

How to get to Castellammare del Golfo

To reach the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Scala you need to get to Castellammare del Golfo, reachable from Trapani via the SS187.
Starting from Palermo you must instead cross the E90 and exit at Castellammare del Golfo.

© Image by Maria8804, CC BY-SA 4.0 - Maria8804, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons