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Shrine of Our Lady of Sorresca
Come and see the Shrine of Our Lady of Sorresca in Sabaudia and we will tell you a story that sounds like a miracle.
The story goes that fishermen in San Felice Circeo, while pulling their nets that seemed heavier than usual, made an incredible discovery. In their worn-out net they found a wooden face, worn out by the incessant kissing of the waves and swollen with brackish water. They could not believe their eyes: the Black Madonna emerged from the muddy bottom of Lake Paola. Her face that was as dark as ebony seemed burned by the hot sun. They decided to take it to the nearby church of St Paul, but fate had other plans. The Black Madonna disappeared on the same day and was found, as if resurrected, on the very same banks where she had been found. It was clear that the place, Lake Paola, was special and that the Madonna of the Resurrection, called Sorresca, which in dialect means "who rises again", was to rest there for eternity.
A really fascinating story, don't you think?
However, the Shrine has a real, much older history; in fact, it stands on ancient foundations. It was built on the ruins of an ancient Roman villa from the first century AD. Later, in the 6th century AD, it was built by the Benedictine monks. This holy site proudly houses a wooden statue depicting a Madonna and Child dating back to the 13th century. The church bell tower, which today is so massive, originally served as a defence and watchtower.
