Gallery
Description
The sanctuary of the Madonna del Carmine is a monumental church in Sorrento, located in the historic centre: built in the 3rd century it was rebuilt in the 16th century.
A primitive church, as witnessed by some notarial deeds, was built around the third century, between 230 and 240, in the place where according to tradition, some inhabitants of Sorrento, Marco, Quartilla, Quintino, Quintilla and nine others, came executed as followers of the Christian religion according to the laws imposed by Diocletian, where there was also a pagan temple, the dedication of which, however, is unknown. In the sixteenth century, the bishop Lelio Brancaccio, decided to entrust the church to the Carmelite fathers from the church of Carmine in Naples: the first prior, Bartolomeo Pasca, took charge, thanks to the inheritance received from his mother and the offers of the faithful, of build a new church, in the same place as the previous one, which was finished in 1572 and dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel; a convent was also attached to it. During the course of the XVIII this was completely restored, giving it a classic aspect of the time, in Baroque style.
With the arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte in Naples, the Carmelites were expelled from the city and the complex passed under the control of the Royal State and later, in 1816, donated to the municipality of Sorrento; it was in this period, precisely starting from 1866, that thanks to the filling of the Vallone dei Mulini, to allow for the construction of a square, that the church found itself becoming part of the city centre: in fact, previously this was located just outside the walls, near the entrance to the town. Restored again in 1921 and then again in 1960, as remembered by two inscriptions, it returned again to the Carmelites on 27 September 1936, under pressure from Bishop Paolo Jacuzio, who had already requested it on 11 February 1929.
Inside it has a single nave and side altars. The apse is decorated with paintings depicting some episodes from the life of the Madonna (Sant’Anna with the Virgin Child, the Assumption of Mary, the Annunciation). On the main altar there is a copy of the Madonna Bruna (the original is found in the Carmine church in Naples). There are many paintings from the Neapolitan school: on the right wall Madonna with Child; Madonna giving the veil to St. Mary Magdalene, St. Andrew and St. Teresa of Avila, and another painting in the chapel of SS. Martyrs.
Contacts of the Sanctuary
| Address: | Piazza Tasso, 158 – 80067 Sorrento (NA) |
| Telephone: | 081 8781416 |
Celebrations
| Weekdays: | hours xx:xx |
| Holidays: | hours xx:xx |
| Other appointments: | day x |
| Confessions: | day x from xx:xx to xx:xx |
