Sanctuary of Gibilmanna

The Santuario di Gibilmanna is a sanctuary of the Mother of God in the mountains above Cefalù. It lies at an altitude of about 800 m in Gibilmanna, a district of Cefalù, on a western slope near the summit of Pizzo S. Angelo in the Madonie. The sanctuary is located in a large wooded area, in the book, elm, ash, oak and chestnut trees grow

According to tradition, the sanctuary was originally developed from Pope Gregory the Great, who founded a Benedictine monastery in the 6th century at this point.

During the Arab domination of the monastery fell into disrepair, the church was received by hermits on. After the Norman conquest of Sicily, the monastery was rebuilt. 1228 the church became a Priory, no longer served as a monastery church.

1535, the church was transferred to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and beside her erected a small monastery. In 1619 it was decided to build in place of the old Benedictine church a new, larger church building. This church was finished in 1623 and inaugurated in 1625.

From the old church there is a fresco in the Byzantine style, which shows the Virgin Mary with the Infant Jesus (Madonna col bambino ), transferred to a side chapel of the new church was. Also a statue of the Mother of God and a Byzantine crucifix on a side wall of the Capella della Madonna still come from the old church.

1907, the facade of the church was rebuilt in neo-Gothic style after a collapse of the portico.