The Sanctuary of the Madonna del Monte. The municipality of Marciana
holds one of the most famous holy sites on the island - the Sanctuary
of the Madonna del Monte, at 630 metres above sea level. Dating
back to 1572, as reported in an old register in the municipal historical
archive, the hermitage is surrounded by an age-old chestnut and
pine wood. There are some enormous granite boulders nearby, corroded
by the wind and water, including the famous "Chair of Napoleon",
a rocky ensemble from which legend has it that the Corsican emperor
scanned the horizon during his brief stay, from the 23rd August
to the 5th September 1814, at the Madonna del Monte. An evocative
and truly marvellous place that can be reached along a route distinguished
by fourteen small chapels. This is the Via Crucis, indicating the
sacredness of the place, where San Paolo della Croce preached in
1753.
