Origins of the Madonna del Terzito Sanctuary
The story of the birth of the sanctuary of Salina is linked to the figure of a hermit who built a modest place to retire to pray.
According to tradition, on 23 July 1622 the Virgin appeared to Alfonso Mercorella, a woodcutter. Following that apparition, the man found an image of the Madonna framed with wood under the ruins of the modest structure built by the hermit. The woodcutter was surprised by the fact that the image depicted on the canvas had the same appearance as the Virgin in his vision. The Sanctuary was thus built in that place but, according to tradition, the image exhibited in the Sanctuary is only a copy of the canvas found by the woodcutter. In fact, it is said that he distributed small parts of the painting to the inhabitants of the place.
