THE BLACK MADONNA OF TINDARI

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The  church that sit atop a mountainous hill contains the Black Madonna of Tindari. The statue bears the inscription "NIGRA SUM SED FORMOSA" meaning "I am black but beautiful".

 

The Black Madonna is said to be miraculous starting from its arrival on the Greek-originated city of Tindari in Sicily.

 

 The legend states that the ship carrying the Madonna's statue was forced to docked  in the area because of strong storm. They unloaded some of their stuffs at the abbey including the statue. Since then on  the Madonna stayed on the basilica and has helped and protected  the town from several wars. 

 

 Another famous legend is the story of the  lagoon. It was said to be  created  when a pilgrim  refused to pray to the Madonna because she was black. The woman accidentally dropped her baby into the ocean and she asked the Madonna to save her baby, The  Madonna then  made the land rise to save the infant.  The shape of the sands of the lagoon looks like the image of the Madonna carrying the baby.

Another interesting characteristic of the church are its mosaic-laden walls.