The Hermitage at the top of Cilento
Built on the top of Mount Gelbison, 1,705 metres above sea level, the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Sacro Monte in Novi Velia offers a wonderful bird's eye view of the Vallo di Diano and the Gulf of Salerno.
History
The Marian sanctuary was probably built in the tenth or eleventh century by the Basilian Italian-Greek monks, who built it on the remains of an older pagan temple built by the pre-Roman population of the Enotri.
Later, the religious site initially became the property of the Bishop of Capaccio and then of the powerful Marzano family, who granted it to the Celestine monks of Novi. With the suppression of the Celestine Order in the 18th century, the sanctuary returned to the possession of the Bishop of Capaccio.
A destination for pilgrimages since the 1300s, the sanctuary is still used for this purpose, and can be reached via various paths that climb up the mountain. According to popular worship, both the sanctuary and the path that leads to it include various points in which Marian apparitions apparently occurred.
From an architectural point of view, the sanctuary has three naves divided by stone columns that support a barrel decorated with frescoes. Inside the presbyter there are, instead, some valuable wooden statues, including one depicting a Virgin and Child.
