| The Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Grottella is located two kilometres from the town of Copertino, in the Cigliano area, on the ruins of a medieval house. The medieval house was discovered by a shepherd looking for a lost calf. He found behind a thick bush, an underground cave, on which wall there was a sacred image of the Virgin Mary, then named "Madonna della Grottella”. In 1577 the present church was built, and in the second half of the XVIII century, baroque altars, frescoes and a chapel dedicated to St. Joseph were added. In the XVII century the fresco was embedded in the central altar. In 1613 the Order of Friars Minor Conventual arrived in Cupertino and took possession of the sanctuary. The monastery, closed in 1884, was reopened in 1954 by the Friars Minor Conventual. Currently the church has a gabled facade with a small portal, a coat of arms and a rose window. The internal structure is made of tufo (local sandstone) and has a single vaulted nave with altars: four on the left side and three on the right side. |