The Sanctuary of the Chapels - The Holy Land in Calabria

"Io Domenico Longo peregrino in Gerusalemme dico che qualsivoglia persona tanto cittadina quanto forestiera sia franca venendo a visitare questi santi luoghi non fare però danno. (1595).
Just 2 kilometres from the small village of Laino Borgo (CS), immersed in the silence of a placid and unspoilt nature, is the Santuario delle Cappelle, also known as the Sanctuary of the Holy Sepulchre or of Maria Santissima dello Splendore.

The Sanctuary is on a hill in the open countryside.

The origins of this place, a true monumental complex, date back, according to tradition, to the 16th century. Precisely in 1557, when the devout Domenico Longo, had a vision in a dream: the dream was apparently set in its background and the most important buildings in Jerusalem were located here.
Dominic, therefore, decided to go to Jerusalem to visit these places.
Returning home laden with drawings and plans, he decided to undertake a singular undertaking: to build the Church of Our Lady of the Spasimo (which should reproduce the chapel of St Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine) and some small chapels (one of which is included in the church) inspired by other buildings seen in the Holy Land: the Sanctuary was beginning to take shape.

Over time, other small chapels were added, all different from each other, making a total of 15 that can still be visited today. They all refer to sacred places in Jerusalem associated with Christ, the Virgin Mary or other important religious figures.
The first five chapels were dedicated respectively to the Holy Sepulchre, the Nativity in Bethlehem, the Hole of the Holy Cross on Calvary, the Stone of the Anointing, and the Ascension of Jesus on the Mount of Olives. Later two more chapels were erected dedicated to the Burial of the Blessed Virgin Mary and to St. Mary of the Spasimo. Seven more chapels were added over time.
Finely decorated with frescoes and quotations of Latin phrases, some of them are so small that they can accommodate a couple of people inside at most.
We are dealing with a place that offered itself as a pilgrimage destination to those who, unable to travel to the Holy Land, nevertheless wanted to feel spiritually close to those places.
An ambitious intent for the time and certainly of great spiritual value.

The church dedicated to Our Lady of the Spasimo is simple and well-balanced: a single nave with only two altars located on the left and right walls respectively. On the ceiling is a fresco of the Deposition of Christ.
The current church façade, also measured in form and volume, dates back to the end of the 19th century. In the forecourt of the sanctuary, among other buildings, there is a fountain from 1890 made of dressed stone.

Every third Sunday in September, there is a folkloristic event with a procession, songs and popular music to celebrate the Madonna dello Spasimo.

The greenery that envelops the small buildings, the conciliatory atmosphere for meditation and prayer, and the view of the beautiful Pollino mountains, all bring the visitor back to a dimension of calm and tranquillity, far from chaos, in which to find himself and his spirituality.