The Sanctuary of Saint Francis of Paola

The Sanctuary of Saint Francis of Paola stands in a gorge of the Isca stream lush with vegetation, on the site where Saint Francis had founded the chapel dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi. The arrival point of the Via del Giovane del Cammino di Saint Francis of Paola, it is also a pilgrimage destination from Calabria and all of southern Italy. You arrive at the sanctuary from a scenic square with an obelisk and find yourself in front of a complex of buildings. The church, still Gothic in design, is rich in artistic episodes and religious memorabilia, including a panel depicting Saint Francis of Assisi and the urn containing the saint's relics, which miraculously escaped a fire in Tours, France, and were later transferred to Paola. The double-arched cloister leads to the monastery, which has a rich library and Renaissance and Baroque paintings and is partly supported by an arch over the stream. Once you leave the church, you reach the "area of prodigies", which groups together some of the places where Saint Francis of Paola performed his most famous miracles: a furnace where the saint saved a lamb from the flames, a beneficial spring that never changes level, the bridge and the devil's stone. A few steps down lead to the grotto, a place that was once Saint Francis' refuge, where he used to gather his thoughts in meditation and prayer. And finally, next to the ancient sanctuary, a new large basilica was built in 2007 to welcome pilgrims.