Santuario della Beata Vergine del Portone

The Shrine dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary "Porta Paradisi", commonly referred to as Madonna del Portone, was built in 1902. It incorporates the primitive church that was built in correspondence of one of the medieval doors of access to the city that opened between West and South and turned towards Rione San Marco. The current shrine of Romanesque-Byzantine style has three naves with two large side chapels, a Latin-cross shape and a large 41 metre high cupola topped by a small cupola which welcomes a gilt copper statue of the Virgin Mary. The atrium is imposing and formed by Byzantine columns of granite and characterised by a large staircase. The presbytery gives access to the chapel with the fresco of Our Lady locked in a wooden display case. The crypt was built in 1930 and dedicated to worship in 1932; it has two chapels-Diorama depicting the Holy Christmas and the Burial of Jesus with life-size wooden statues. The Shrine can also be accessed from the side garden in which we find a copy of the Lourdes grotto of 1930.