This church and sanctuary are set in a peaceful spot set above the town of Paola on the Tyrrhenian coast, in the province of Cosenza. Away from the hustle and bustle, you can enjoy the waterfall and the surroundings as well as the old caves of the hermitage saint set beneath the newer church. It is unlikely that you will meet another tourist- instead the site is a popular spot for Italians visiting for mass, or visiting the sanctuary as a family (particularly on a Sunday).
Saint Francis, after whom the sanctuary is named, was born in Paola in 1416 and educated by the Franciscan Friars. He was born to very religious parents and entered a friary at the age of 13, before taking a pilgrimage to Assisi and Rome. On his return, he elected to live in solitude in a cave within his father’s grounds, and then moved to an even more secluded cave location. Two followers later joined him in his hermitage, and cells and a chapel were built to accommodate this new order. By 1454, the numbers had grown and a large monastery and church was built. Saint Francis also founded several other monasteries in Calabria and Sicily, as well as travelling to France for his final years at the request of the French king. He is now considered the patron saint of Calabria.
You can visit the caves and small chapel in the rock which can be accessed by a pathway along the side of the small river. The monastery complex above is quite large, with a courtyard garden, confession rooms and shrines. A new church has been built as well as the older one, which houses many visitors for mass. The gardens around are peaceful to visit and enjoy a picnic with the sound of the waterfalls.
An interesting artefact is also the unexploded bomb from the second world war. In August 1943, most of the inhabitants of the town were hiding in the monastery here, when a bomb was dropped. The target was Mussolini’s right hand man and secretary of the National Fascist Party, Carlo Scorza. But astoundingly the bomb did not detonate, and can be found displayed in the wall near the new church.
