Visiting the church of Piedigrotta a Pizzo Calabro - Discover italy

The Chiesetta di Piedigrotta is a small cave church at the beach of Pizzo Calabro, in Calabria.
According to legend, during a storm in 1665 a ship from Naples was about to crash against the rocky cliffs below Pizzo. The captain, like many Neapolitan people, was devout to Saint Mary of Piedigrotta, and put his life in her hands, praying in front of the picture he had on board. When he and his men arrived safe and sound on land, they placed the holy image inside a small chapel carved out of rock, right where they had miraculously reached the shore.
The rock the city of Pizzo is built on, is rather soft tufo (tufa), a porous sort of limestone, which is easy to cut while still wet. Local stone-cutters were mining blocks of the rock along the cliff, creating huge caverns.
Inside the cave are numerous statues hewn out of the soft tufa. Most of them were made by a local family during the 19th and 20th century. Most are biblical figures, but there are also famous people of daily life. One relief even depicts John F. Kennedy.
When you visit the church, make sure to buy your tickets at the bar above the church. There is long winding path down to the cave at the foot of the cliff, and you will not be able to buy tickets at the church!