Back in early April, Jess and I wanted to go for a road trip. We hadn’t been up the Northern coastline yet and Mario told us of a place called Tindari. Its located on the Northeastern coastline of Sicily and has a ton of history. The story behind the black Madonna and the duomo is very interesting. Here it is:
The story of how the Black Madonna arrived in Tindari is the stuff that legends are made of. According to local tradition, the statue, which is certainly of Byzantine origin, was one of many works of art smuggled out of Constantinople in the 8th and 9th Centuries during the period of Iconoclasm initiated by Emperor Leo III. A storm forced the ship carrying the Black Madonna into the port of Tindari, where the sailors deposited their load at the local abbey for safekeeping. She now sits behind the altar with the inscription “nigro sum sed formosa” (black am I, but beautiful).
Another legend regarding the Black Madonna recounts how one pilgrim, on making some uncomplimentary remarks about the statue, incurred the not inconsiderable wrath of the Madonna. The lady in question turned in horror to see her child plummeting down the cliffs towards the sea. However, in an act of mercy and a demonstration of her unworldly powers, the Madonna made a bank of sand rise from the sea to cushion the child’s fall. Hence the curious geographical formation of which more later.
The location is amazing with great views all the way to the Aeolian Islands. The drive up to Tindari was also very cool along the coastline of Sicily. Along the way while we were passing Messina you can clearly see the mainland of Italy across the water. Sorry foodies, but there wasn’t any food finds on this trip. 🙂
