Churches

The small village of Torraca has numerous churches, both small and large, which are the mirror of the ancient religious faith of its inhabitants.

The biggest one is dedicated to the patron saint San Pietro Apostolo and is quoted in documents dated XI century, the  parish church was probably built at the end of IX century.

Deeply transformed in the eighteenth century, it was restored in 1920 as its decorations, realized by Lanziani in 1921, testify.

In the vault of the central nave the painter painted some scenes inspired by Saint Pietro’s life; under the cupola there is the “paradise triumph”.This church preserves a valuable seventeenth century basin used as baptismal font.

Next to the parish church there are the Congregation and the Little chapel of Saint Anna founded by the Magaldi family; on the front door there is a marble engraving reading as follows:

This little church dedicated to Saint Anna was long time neglected and the archpriest Giuseppe Mercadante after having demolished it by the foundations, took  care of  rebuilding it in a more beautiful form.

In 1849

Another peculiar and ancient little church is that one of Santa Maria di Loreto, which a madam, Carmela Perazzi, gave  her nephew Francesco for the rebuilding; the church was enlarged, embellished and given back   to the people devoted to the Vergine Lauretana.

According to an ancient tradition in the Church of San Fantino, situated some km from the centre of the village, is buried the body of San Fantino l’Egumeno, master and patron  of S.Nilo. When in 950 the Saracens assailed the whole Calabria and the Mercurion monasteries, San Fantino was forced to escape to the north and began his pilgrimage as far as  Cilento.

Another little chapel in the area of San Rocco is dedicated to Sant’Antonio, celebrated on the 13th June. The feast begins 13 days before by the celebration of the “tredicina” in the graceful chapel and ends by a religious procession and a solemn Mass in the Church of San Pietro Apostolo.Important and very beautiful is the Sanctuary dedicated to the Madonna dei Cordici, which dominates the whole Gulf of Policastro with its spectacular and evocative landscape.The sanctuary has very ancient origins, in 1626  Santa Maria de Corticibus was already known and there was celebrated the Mass for the devotees. Its structure is Basilian, a Greek cross with a precious  hand painted floor  in ceramics from Vietri;Maria Vergine was elected, by a solemn act in 1666, co-patron of the village.