a r c ha e o l o g y
Following the path to the lef t of the column leads to the Church of Mar y of Capo Colonna. It is a small church, with only one nave, but it is an impor tant one in the region. The original church was built over the site of a Roman villa, and the furnace and foundation remains can still be viewed to the lef t of the church. The earliest church at the site is recorded in a six th centur y manuscript called the Book of Miracles and claims there was a sacred image dedicated to St Luke in the church. The modern church is much newer but still houses an impor tant image; that of the Virgin of Capo Colonna, the patron saint of the Diocese of Santa Severina.
Annually on the third Sunday of May, the Cathedral in Crotone is the star ting point of the procession that celebrates the ‘Festival of Madonna of Capo Colonna’. The focus of this festival is the Byzantium image of the Virgin Mar y. A modern copy of this picture is carried in procession from Crotone, the 11 kms to Capo Colonna and the small church here. The procession, star ting at 1am arrives at its destination at dawn, and is accompanied by up to 10,000 pilgrims, some on their knees for the duration of the procession. The picture remains at Capo Colonna until dusk when it is transpor ted back to Crotone by boat, accompanied by f ishing vessels. The f ishermen believe she will protect their trips out to sea for the coming year. As she enters the harbour of Crotone she is greeted by music and f irework s. Ever y seven years the original picture is used in the procession, and the festivities are grander than the annual celebrations. The return is more traditional in this pro cession, where rather than returning by sea, the picture is carried by ox- drawn car t,
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Unfor tunately, a combination of centuries of ear thquakes and wars have destroyed much of the temple, although in the sixteenth centur y there were still a number of standing columns, hence the name of the site (Cape of Columns). But local quarr ying for the dressed stone to be used in the construction of the castle, harbour and nobles’ houses in Crotone and the surrounding areas, depleted the temple until ver y little remained.
The original image, a Byzantium icon transposed onto canvas brought to Italy in 500 CE, is kept in the Basilica Cathedral of Cro tone. However, it was stolen by the Turk s on one of their many raids of the area in 1519. They tried to set f ire to the picture and, although it blackened the image, it did not consume it. They therefore believed that it was a power ful piece of ar t, and they took it on board their ship. However, they were unable to move their vessel once they had the painting loaded. In order to be able to move it and leave the coast, they were forced to throw the picture overboard into the sea. It was then discovered by a local f isherman, Agazio lo Morello, who kept it in his house. He only revealed its discover y when he was on his deathbed.
O n l i n e
There were originally 48 of these columns lining a raised por tico surrounding the temple itself, creating a covered colonnade. Each column was over eight metres tall. The roof was made of polished marble tiles, and the eaves were peppered with lion headed water spouts. The marble roof tiles ref lected the moonlight, acting as a lighthouse, warning ships of the approaching coastline. During the sunlight the temple would have been visible from miles around.
i t a l y
A n c i e n t P l a n e t
for the protection of women and fer tilit y, combined with the Roman goddess Juno. The site was the destination of thousands of pilgrims who lef t votive of ferings for her.
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