Our Lady of Grace Hermitage

Near Avola, a place that, although in part, can be counted among the places of religious tourism is undoubtedly the Hermitage of the Madonna delle Grazie. This is a complex that includes a shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Grace with an adjoining convent, which, surrounded by centuries-old olive trees, stands atop the right bank of the deep Bugliola valley, the spectacular CavaGrande Canyon, at an elevation of 480 meters.

The Hermitage, owned by the municipality, has been sold in recent times to private individuals who, through skillful conservative restoration, have made it a receptive structure that retains the mysterious charm of the historic austere dwelling. The Convent, dating back to the 1500s, was built by Capuchin friars just outside the walls of Avola Antica but, destroyed by the terrible earthquake of 1693, was rebuilt in 1729 to a design by architect Giuseppe Alessi, at the express wish of priest Sebastiano Li Gioi.

The latter wanted to erect, at his own expense, over the remains of the Capuchin monastery, a Hermitage that took the name Hermitage of the Madonna of Grace because of the legendary discovery, in the 1860s, under a large boulder, of a small, finely decorated bronze bell and a handcrafted painted limestone bas-relief depicting the Madonna of Grace suckling the Child now kept at the Hermitage church.

This one-nave building has, on the top of the frontal body, the belfry with three arches and associated bells, among which the central, taller one is surmounted by a tympanum; a rose window in the center of the facade has the task of illuminating the chancel. Inside the church, the high altar incorporates part of the original Baroque altar from the 1700s, fortunately found in the 1980s during restoration work; also of note is the altarpiece, an 18th-century canvas by the painter Olivio Sozzi or his best pupil, which depicts, in the upper part, the Trinity with a host of angels and in the center the Madonna of Grace with Child, crowned by 12 stars.

From the large terrace in front of the church the visitor can admire an extraordinarily impressive view of the surroundings of Avola, Noto, Rosolini, Ispica and, on clear days, even Pozzallo. The interior of the former convent, especially what used to be the refectory, overlooks the Canyon of Cava Grande offering the visitor’s view a unique, truly breathtaking spectacle, which allows him to admire the enchanting Ionian Riviera that, from the Lido of Avola reaches the beaches of Marzamemi, up to the southernmost promontory of Capo Passero.