Chiesetta di Piedigrotta

The Chiesetta di Piedigrotta is one of the most singular and evocative places in Calabria. Carved directly into the tuff rock at the water's edge, it originated as a small place of worship linked to the devotion of Pizzo's sailors. According to tradition, the church's origins date to the seventeenth century and are connected to a shipwreck: some sailors who survived the storm made a vow to the Madonna, giving rise to this sacred space overlooking the sea. Since then the chapel has become a symbol of the deep relationship between faith, sea and the local community. The interior is the most interesting element. The walls and spaces are entirely carved and sculpted from the rock, enriched over time by statues and bas-reliefs created by local artists between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, depicting sacred scenes, biblical episodes and devotional figures. The atmosphere is intimate and highly evocative: the natural light filtering from outside, the sound of the sea and the raw rock contribute to making the visit an intense, immediate and emotional experience.