Spirituality in the territory of Reggio

A mysticism with remote roots

The spirituality of the territory linked to the metropolitan city of Reggio Calabria has it roots in the past centuries; since its foundation, the city’s people on the banks of the Straits have been tied to its destiny, hopes, and devotion to cults capable of favouring cohesion and strength throughout the community.
From the ancient Greek devotion to Apollo up to the Madonna of Consolation, Reggio families found in religion that element capable of confronting the difficulties that history placed before it. This is especially true of modern times, when Turkish invasions, rather than numerous earthquakes, subjected the city to tragic events that put the survival of the population at risk.
In this context, for example, the Marian cult of the Madonna of the Consolation, or Madonna dell’Eremo, was born. Despite being the patron saint of the city of San Giorgio, the most important religious moment in Reggio falls on the second Saturday of September, when the sacred effigy kept in the Eremo dei cappuccino, located on a hill in the upper part of the city, descends to reach the cathedral in the centre, accompanied by thousands of faithful followers.
The cult dates back to the 16th century, when in 1576 Reggio was hit by a devastating plague. On that historic occasion, the religious and civil authorities associated the end of the disease with the intercessions addressed to the painting exhibited in the convent and from that moment onwards the festival and its procession have continued, even during the World Wars and the Uprising of 1970. Many other religious festivals also take place in the individual districts during the year, specifically in the summer months, tied to the veneration of saints such as Sant’Antonio, San Francesco, or that of the popular Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is very much tied to the trades of the inhabitants of the district of the same name, such as railway workers and fishermen.