Santuario di Santa Maria della Grottella

The Santuario di Santa Maria della Grottella stands just outside the town center of Copertino, on the road leading to San Donato.\n\nBeyond the simple façade dominated by a rose window, you enter the sanctuary by descending a few steps. Inside, the single nave features eight arches along the sides, into which altars have been inserted over the centuries.\n\nThe sanctuary also includes several adjoining areas such as the sacristy, where today you can read some maxims of San Giuseppe da Copertino, the bishop's hall, the cloister, the convent cells, and the chapel of Santa Barbara.\n\nThe origin of the sanctuary is shrouded in legend, which tells of the discovery, in 1543, of an icon of the Madonna and Child inside a cave. It is said that San Giuseppe da Copertino, the “saint of flights,” also took part in the construction work of the sacred building. What is certain is that, in addition to spending many years there, he saved it from being forcibly closed by Pope Innocent X.