About 5 km from Noto it is possible to visit the Hermitage of San Corrado Fuori le Mura. The place where it is located is the so-called “Valley of the Pizzoni”, where Corrado Confalonieri settled between 1322 and 1351. In addition to the sanctuary, it is also possible to visit the cave where the saint slept and prayed.
The history of the Hermitage of San Corrado Fuori le Mura
The Hermitage of San Corrado Fuori le Mura is located in an area known as the Valley of Miracles. Here, between 1322 and 1351, lived as a hermit Brother Corrado Confalonieri, now a saint. Born in 1290 in Calendasco, near Piacenza, to a noble family, he decided to give up all his wealth and dedicate himself to monastic life. He began a long journey to southern Italy, arriving in Noto in 1340. Here he became friends with Guglielmo Buccheri, a squire of King Frederick of Swabia, who had also become a hermit after a hunting accident. After living together for about two years in a district of the ancient city of Noto, Corrado Confalonieri moved to an isolated area called Valle dei Pizzoni. Here he lived in a cave until his death. In the early 1700s, the sanctuary visible today was built.
Interesting fact: Every ten years, the silver urn of St. Conrad, found in the Cathedral of Noto, is carried in procession to the hermitage.
Hermitage of San Corrado Fuori le Mura: interior and artwork
The Hermitage of San Corrado Fuori le Mura is located about 5 kilometers from the city of Noto. After passing through an entrance gate, a tree-lined avenue leads to the church. The façade is in Baroque style and the interior, although small, is richly decorated. On the right, inside a small rock incorporated into the building, there is a marble statue by the sculptor Giuseppe Pirrone, representing St. Conrad at prayer. On the left there is a wooden crucifix of the 18th century and the body of the martyr St. Leonardo. On the high altar of the small church there is a painting of the Madonna with Child by Sebastiano Conca from the 18th century. Inside the hermitage there is a museum that collects ex-votos of the faithful.
The cave of San Corrado
A staircase near the Hermitage of San Corrado leads to the so-called Cave of San Corrado. It is a cave dug in the rock where, according to tradition, Corrado Confalonieri lived. The cave consists of two different rooms: in the first, larger one, there is an altar. In the second, smaller one, there is still the rectangular rock on which St. Conrad rested. In both rooms there are many objects left by the faithful to ask for a grace from the saint.
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