Page 190 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

Santuario di Tindari

Mon–Sat 6.45am–12.30pm & 2.30–7pm, Sun 6.45am–12.45pm & 2.30–8pm; closes 1hr earlier in winter • Free •
santuariotindari.it
Climbing the hill to the site, the first thing you see, glistening from its cliff-top

position, is the Santuario di Tindari, a lavishly kitsch temple erected in the 1960s to
house the much-revered Madonna Nera, or Black Madonna. A plaque underneath this
Byzantine icon proclaims Nigra sum, sed hermosa (“I am black, but beautiful”), a
reference to the esteem in which she has been held for a thousand years since the icon
appeared from the east to perform a series of miracles. Pilgrims throng to the
sanctuary to pay their respects, especially around the Black Madonna’s feast day on
September 8. There’s a great view from the top, overlooking a long tongue of white

sand and the Marinello lagoons below.

Tyndaris archeological site

Daily 9am–2hr before sunset • €4

The archeological site of Tyndaris lies at the end of a path that starts in front of the
sanctuary. Most of the visible remains are Roman, including some houses and shops
along the main street, the decumanus – one of them (probably a caldarium, or
bathhouse) with traces of plumbing still surviving – and an impressive basilica at the
eastern end. The basilica would have been the entrance to the agora lying beyond
(now covered by tourist shops). It was restored in the 1950s, using modern materials,

though it still retains a certain grandeur. You can just about make out the manner of its
construction, bridging Greek and Roman building techniques, and designed in such a
way that the central gallery could be shut off at either end and used for public
meetings, with the market traffic diverted along the side passages.

The decumanus has streets running off it, and at the bottom of one is the Casa

Romana, a Roman house in good condition, with mosaic floors. At the other end of the