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Sanctuary 0f Madonna delle Lacrime

The Sanctuary Church of the Madonna delle Lacrime(Lady of Tears) is destination of pilgrimage, it is composed by the crypt and the upper temple that increases for dozen of meters of height, on the top there is a statue of Madonna.

Between the most common destionations of catholic pilgrimage in the world, this will surprise you for his unique image. Majestic, higher and modern: you can see it from different points of Siracusa. On the top, to different dozen of metres of height, The gold bronze Madonna admires and protects the city.

The Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Lacrime was erected in memory of the miraculous lacrimation of the effigy depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, placed to the bedside of the spouses Lannuso at their humble home in Via degli Orti in Syracuse, in 1953. The tears were analyzed and they resulted to be real tear fluid. The devotion that followed was - still is- of enormous proportions.

The work of Sanctuary that should have hosted the small effigy of Madonna delle Lacrime was designed in 1957 by French architects Michel Andrault and Pierre Parat following an international competition. The construction began only in 1966: the delay was caused by the critics of citizens that considered the project a "monster of reinforced concrete" which was going to weigh further on a ‘urban area already heavily compromised. The construction ended in 1994, after 28 years from the start of works. On 6 Novembre 1995 Pope Giovanni Paolo II inaugurated the Sanctuary officially.

The religious building consists of the crypt and the upper temple, with a conical body made up of reinforced concrete ribs that reach a total height of 74 m, topped by a crown of steel 20 meters high carrying a statue of the Madonna in gilded bronze by Francesco Caldarella, surrounded by a halo with circular and radial elements.

In the upper temple is the central altar that houses the miraculous picture. Sideways there are different chapels: such as San Giuseppe, Santa Lucia and Pio da Pietralcina.

On the floor of the crypt are preserved the remains of Roman and late antique age consisting of a pagan hypogeum and a large room with walls decorated with mosaics. There are other chapels such as San Corrado Confalonieri, Sant'Agata, San Francesco d'Assisi.

Every second Sunday of the month are held Masses in LIS (Italian Sign Language) for deaf people.

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Via Luigi Cadorna, 139
96100 - Siracusa (SR)