Basilica of Santa Maria, Italy

The Sanctuary of Santa Maria on the Cliff is located in the Gulf of Sant'Eufemia on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It belongs to Tropea in the Vibo Valentia Province of the Calabria region in southern Italy and was named the "Most Beautiful Village in Italy" in 2021. According to historians, the first human settlements were made around the 7th or 8th century, believed to be Greek hermits and monks who isolated themselves from the civilized world and devoted themselves to a life of meditation and abstinence. And since the first written accounts of the use of the rock for monastic purposes date back to the 11th century, everything before that must be considered as probable history. In fact, Tropea, like all of Calabria, was then under the jurisdiction of the Byzantine and Greek rite churches until the arrival of the Latinizing Normans in 1040. Around 1066, the land around the Sanctuary of Santa Maria was divided among ten families for cultivation by the Normans and donated to Bishop Disdrio of the Abbey of Montecassino by Robert Guiscard, a Norman cousin of Pope Victor. Over the centuries, due to strong earthquakes and various attacks it may have experienced, the temple complex has been repaired and renovated many times, and the original structure is long gone. Only inside the church do some typical architectural elements still remain, which were the destinations of pilgrims passing through during the period on their pilgrimage to the Virgin. Following earthquakes in 1783 and 1905, little remains of the original structure. The current staircase reaching the rock was built around 1810. The last renovation dates back to 1908, after the 1905 earthquake destroyed part of the portico. However, the last restoration was in 2010-2011, which is what you see today. #OverseasTravel #Italy #ItalianTravel #SouthernItaly #ItalianTourism #Church #Cliff #Seaview