Pilgrimage Sites in Italy

Amalfi

The Cathedral of Saint Andrew houses the apostle's relics, brought from Constantinople in 1208, in a crypt where Catholic and Orthodox pray together.

Assisi

Assisi is the birthplace of St. Francis and St. Clare, making it one of Catholicism's most significant pilgrimage destinations with profound spiritual heritage.

Bari

Bari is home to the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, housing the relics of Saint Nicholas, making it one of Europe's most important Catholic pilgrimage destinations.

Benevento

Benevento is a historic Catholic pilgrimage site in southern Italy, home to the cathedral where Saint Padre Pio was ordained and the ancient Lombard Church of Santa Sophia.

Bologna

Home to St. Dominic's tomb and the world's longest portico leading to the Madonna di San Luca sanctuary, where pilgrims have walked for nearly 600 years.

Bolsena

Site of the 1263 Eucharistic Miracle that led Pope Urban IV to establish Corpus Christi. The Sacre Pietre remain in Santa Cristina's Basilica.

Canneto

Ancient Marian sanctuary on Roman villa ruins, documented since 703 AD, with the smiling Madonna del Sorriso drawing pilgrims to the Trigno valley.

Cascia

Cascia is a renowned Catholic pilgrimage site in Umbria, home to Saint Rita and housing the miraculous Eucharistic Miracle, drawing the faithful worldwide.

Cortona

Tuscan hill town where St. Margaret's incorrupt body draws pilgrims to her basilica, while the Franciscan hermitage of Le Celle preserves the cell where St. Francis dictated his Testament.

Domodossola

Florence

Cradle of the Renaissance and home to three incorrupt saints, with the miraculous Annunciation fresco, Brunelleschi's dome, and centuries of artistic devotion.

Genoa

Maritime republic turned pilgrimage city, guarding relics of St. John the Baptist in a zebra-striped cathedral and birthplace of Pope Benedict XV.

Ghiffa

UNESCO World Heritage Site on Mount Carciago overlooking Lake Maggiore, dedicated to the mystery of the Holy Trinity with three Baroque chapels and a medieval sanctuary.

Guadangolo (Mentorella)

Perched on a dramatic limestone cliff at 1,018 meters in the Prenestini Mountains, the Sanctuary of the Mentorella stands as one of Europe's oldest Marian shrines—a sacred place that has drawn pilgrims for seventeen centuries, from Emperor Constantine to Pope St. John Paul II

Guardialfiera

Guardialfiera is a historic Catholic pilgrimage site in Molise, home to the ancient Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta which houses precious relics of Saint Gaudentius.

L'Aquila

La Verna

La Verna is the sacred mountain sanctuary where Saint Francis of Assisi received the stigmata in 1224, making it one of Christianity's most holy pilgrimage sites.

Lanciano

Lanciano hosts the first recorded Eucharistic miracle in Catholic history, where host transformed to flesh and wine to blood in the 8th century.

Loreto

Italy's foremost Marian shrine, housing the Holy House where tradition holds the Virgin Mary was born, raised, and received the Annunciation—attracting over four million pilgrims annually to this hilltop sanctuary.

Lucca

Medieval Tuscan city on the Via Francigena, home to the Volto Santo—the oldest monumental wooden crucifix in the West—and the incorrupt body of St. Zita.

Manoppello

Manoppello is home to the Holy Face of Jesus, believed to be Veronica's Veil, drawing pilgrims to witness this miraculous image of Christ.

Matera

Ancient city of cave dwellings and over 150 rupestrian churches, whose biblical landscape drew filmmakers from Pasolini to Mel Gibson to portray the Holy Land.

Mercogliano

Home to Campania's most beloved Marian shrine, where 1.5 million pilgrims climb Mount Partenio each year to venerate the Byzantine Black Madonna called Mamma Schiavona.

Milan

Milan holds profound Catholic significance as the seat of Saint Ambrose and Charles Borromeo, featuring the magnificent Duomo where Saint Augustine was baptized.

Montaione

Home to the Jerusalem of Tuscany—the Sacro Monte di San Vivaldo—where eighteen forest chapels with Renaissance terracotta tableaux bring the Holy Land to pilgrims who cannot travel to Palestine.

Monte Sant'Angelo

Monte Sant'Angelo hosts the oldest shrine in Western Europe dedicated to Archangel Michael, where tradition holds the celestial being consecrated the sanctuary himself.

Montecassino

Montecassino Abbey, founded by St. Benedict in 529, is the birthplace of Western monasticism and houses the tombs of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica.

Mugnano del Cardinale

Home to the relics of St. Philomena—the 'Wonder-Worker' beloved by the Curé d'Ars—where miracles began the moment her remains arrived in 1805.

Naples

Where the blood of San Gennaro liquefies three times yearly, and the tombs of Doctor Giuseppe Moscati and mystic Don Dolindo Ruotolo draw pilgrims seeking miracles.

Nettuno

Seaside pilgrimage town housing the mortal remains of St. Maria Goretti—the Church's youngest canonized martyr, whose radical act of forgiveness converted her own murderer.

Norcia

Birthplace of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, founders of Western monasticism, with the restored Basilica di San Benedetto and a thriving monastic community.

Oropa

Alpine sanctuary rising at 1,159 meters in the Biellese Alps, home to the Black Madonna venerated since the 4th century and crowned every 100 years since 1620.

Orta San Giulio

Home to a UNESCO Sacred Mountain dedicated to St. Francis and an island basilica guarding the relics of St. Julius—the saint who sailed here on his cloak.

Ortona

Ortona houses the relics of St. Thomas the Apostle in its cathedral, making it a major pilgrimage destination for Christians worldwide seeking spiritual connection.

Orvieto

Orvieto is famed for the Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena, with relics preserved in its magnificent Gothic cathedral, drawing pilgrims worldwide.

Ossuccio

Padua

Home to Saint Anthony's incorrupt tongue and tomb, drawing over six million pilgrims annually to Il Santo—Italy's most visited shrine outside Rome.

Palermo

Palermo offers Catholic pilgrims a profound spiritual journey centered on the Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia, patron saint who saved the city from plague and remains beloved throughout Sicily.

Pavia

Pavia houses the tomb of St. Augustine of Hippo in San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro, a major pilgrimage destination for devotees of the Doctor of the Church.

Pietrelcina

Birthplace of St. Padre Pio, where the beloved stigmatic friar was born, baptized, and first received the wounds of Christ beneath a humble elm tree.

Pompeii

Home to the Pontifical Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary, founded by Saint Bartolo Longo—a convert from satanism—around a miraculous painting in 1875.

Predaia

Predaia is home to the magnificent Sanctuary of San Romedio, a medieval pilgrimage site clinging to a rocky cliff where Saint Romedius lived as a hermit.

Ravenna

Eight UNESCO World Heritage churches preserve the finest early Christian mosaics in existence, with the relics of St. Apollinaris and Dante's tomb.

Rome

Rome, the Eternal City, is the heart of Catholicism and seat of the Pope, drawing millions of pilgrims annually to sacred sites.

Salerno

Guardian of Saint Matthew's complete relics and the exile tomb of Pope Gregory VII, who died here in 1085 defending the Church's freedom.

San Galgano

Medieval abbey ruins open to the sky and Tuscany's authentic "sword in the stone"—where a 12th-century knight thrust his blade into rock as a sign of conversion, inspiring centuries of pilgrimage.

San Giovanni Rotondo

San Giovanni Rotondo is home to Saint Padre Pio's shrine, drawing millions to venerate this beloved stigmatic priest and experience his spiritual legacy.

Sant'Ambrogio di Torino

Home to the renowned Sacra di San Michele abbey, this medieval pilgrimage site honors Archangel Michael along ancient European routes.

Santa Maria degli Angeli

Santa Maria degli Angeli is a major Catholic pilgrimage site housing the sacred Porziuncola chapel where St. Francis founded the Franciscan order.

Serra San Bruno

Home to Saint Bruno of Cologne's tomb and the renowned Carthusian monastery, Serra San Bruno offers pilgrims profound spiritual heritage and tranquility in Calabria's Serre Mountains.

Serralunga di Crea

UNESCO World Heritage Sacro Monte where 23 Baroque chapels wind through ancient woodland to a Marian sanctuary attributed to St. Eusebius of Vercelli.

Siena

Siena is home to St. Catherine of Siena, a Doctor of the Church, and contains her birthplace sanctuary and relics, making it a significant Catholic pilgrimage destination.

Subiaco

Birthplace of Western monasticism, where young St. Benedict lived as a hermit for three years before founding the first Benedictine communities.

Syracuse

Home to the miraculous Basilica of Our Lady of Tears, Syracuse offers pilgrims a profound encounter with Marian devotion and modern Catholic miracles in historic Sicily.

Tindari

Tindari is home to the renowned Sanctuary of the Black Madonna, an important Catholic pilgrimage site in northern Sicily dating back to the 11th century.

Tolentino

Shrine of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, first canonized Augustinian and Patron of Holy Souls, with magnificent 14th-century Cappellone frescoes.

Tre Fontane

Site of St. Paul's martyrdom, where three miraculous fountains sprang up—a Trappist abbey with ancient churches and a 1947 Marian apparition grotto.

Trento

Trieste

Trieste offers Catholic pilgrims the renowned National Shrine of Mary Mother and Queen at Monte Grisa, built as a symbol of peace after WWII salvation.

Turin

Guardian of the Holy Shroud and birthplace of the Salesian mission, Turin shelters the most contemplated relic in Christendom alongside the tombs of St. John Bosco and St. Pier Giorgio Frassati.

Valperga

UNESCO World Heritage Sacro Monte with 13 Passion chapels (1712) and an 11th-century Marian sanctuary founded, according to legend, by King Arduin of Ivrea.

Varallo Sesia

Varallo Sesia is home to the oldest Sacro Monte, a UNESCO World Heritage site founded in 1491 as a 'New Jerusalem' for Catholic pilgrims unable to travel to the Holy Land.

Varese

UNESCO World Heritage Sacro Monte with 14 chapels depicting the Mysteries of the Rosary, crowned by a sanctuary housing a 4th-century Madonna.

Venice

Where three Patriarchs became Popes and Christendom's great relics—St. Mark, St. Lucy, St. Zacharias—rest in golden basilicas rising from the lagoon.

Verona

City of Saint Zeno with Romanesque masterpieces, Titian's Assumption, and Pisanello frescoes—northern Italy's richest concentration of medieval sacred art.