The Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia, patron saint of Palermo, is an important place of worship and one of the city’s most evocative monuments, capable of moving celebrated writers like the Romantic poet Johann Wolfgang Goethe.
One cannot remain unmoved before this church with a truly distinctive structure, which you can reach by car along a winding road offering splendid views over Palermo, or on foot via a long flight of steps.
The church is built directly against the grotto where Santa Rosalia spent the last eight years of her life, forming a perfect unity with Monte Pellegrino, the sacred mountain of Palermo’s people.
It is a moving and breathtaking sight that strikes visitors with the force of the religiosity it emanates, as well as with the architectural ingenuity of its builders.
For its symbolic and religious significance, its originality, and the perfect fusion of nature and human construction, the Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia is an unmissable destination during a holiday in Palermo.
The Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia was built in the seventeenth century following the miraculous event that ended the plague in Palermo.
To reach the sanctuary, you must climb a long flight of steps: once at the top, pause to admire the seventeenth-century façade of this highly original church, built against the mountainside.
Once inside, you’ll pass through a vestibule and a hall with a dome open to the sky, after which you’ll have access to the heart of the sanctuary – the karstic grotto approximately 25 metres deep where the saint lived and where her remains were discovered.
The statue of the saint, depicting her at the pinnacle of mystical ecstasy at the moment of her death, dressed in a sumptuous golden robe, possesses a powerful dramatic intensity that touches the heart of every visitor. The work is by Florentine artist Gregorio Tedeschi.
Inside the sanctuary are two altars, a wooden crucifix, a rich collection of ex-votos, and several plaques. After your visit, you can purchase postcards and religious souvenirs at the nearby museum shop.
The sanctuary’s ceiling is crossed by a system of metal channels designed to collect the water, considered holy, that flows from the grotto.
According to legend, this is the holy water that in the seventeenth century healed Girolama La Gattuta, who climbed Monte Pellegrino to fulfil a vow, and many others after her.
There are no certain records of the origins of “Santuzza“, as Santa Rosalia, the city’s patron saint, is affectionately called by people from Palermo.
According to tradition, she was the daughter of nobles, descendants of Charlemagne, but she abandoned the luxurious life of nobility after refusing a marriage to Count Baldwin, arranged by her father in obedience to the king.
The religious life of Santa Rosalia began around the age of 13 or 15: having left her father’s house, Rosalia chose the hermitic life and for 12 years lived in a small karstic cavity in the Quisquina forest (now incorporated into a hermitage dedicated to the saint).
After a brief time in Palermo at her parents’ home, Rosalia returned to living as a hermit in a grotto on the sacred mountain of Palermo’s people, where she would die eight years later.
She was proclaimed patron saint of Palermo in 1624, approximately 450 years after her death.
The bones of Santa Rosalia were discovered in 1624, following an apparition of the saint to Girolama La Gattuta.
The events leading to the authentication of the bones featured the soap maker Vincenzo Bonelli, who after losing his wife killed by the plague, evaded the health checks imposed throughout the city and, dressed as a hunter, climbed Monte Pellegrino intending to take his own life.
It was Santa Rosalia herself who stopped him, appearing to him in a vision and telling him that the plague would cease if her bones were carried through the city.
The false hunter recounted the saint’s words to his confessor, who informed the Archbishop. Months later, a procession with the bones was organised: as they passed, the sick were healed before everyone’s eyes and the contagion stopped, whilst the complete eradication of the epidemic occurred just a year after the miraculous procession.
It is possible to marry within the sanctuary, but if you want such a suggestive location, you’ll need to begin organising your wedding well in advance: wedding bookings typically open two years ahead!
From Palermo’s city centre, the Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia can be reached by car or by urban bus.
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