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The Sanctuary was built on Monte Pellegrino in 1625 around the cave, where according to tradition, the remains of Santa Rosalia were found. Rosalia was daughter of Duke Sinibaldo of Quisquina and the Roses and was a neice, on the part of her mother, of King Roger of Altavilla. She grew up at her uncle’s court in Palermo in the XII century. Santa Rosalia was very beautiful and aroused passionate desires among many others, for instance that of Prince Baudouin who, at that time, was a guest at the court of Roger and was very much in love with her. Legend has it that, during a big game hunt on Mount Pellegrino, the mountain above Palermo, a lion was about to kill King Roger but Baudouin bravely saved him by killing the animal. King Roger asked Baudouin to freely express a preference for a prize for his heroic action and the latter asked for the hand of Rosalia who, because of the marriage proposal, fled to the Royal (Norman) Palace throwing her mother, her uncle and the whole allocated garrison into despair. She lived as a hermit in a cave at the foot of Mount Quisquina, where she spent twelve years of her life. Subsequently, she moved to a cave on Mount Pellegrino, where she lived “for a life of contemplation” until her death. Her cult is linked to a particular event that happened during a plague epidemic in Palermo. On May 7th, 1624 a vessel from Tunis docked in the port of the city, and the men on board were suspected of having been infected by the disease. The alarm was soon given but the viceroy, ill-advised, let himself be convinced and had the cargo unloaded from the vessel. Palermo turned into a hospital under the sky. The rest is legend and myth. The miracle, however, was attributed to the relics of Santa Rosalia; they were carried in procession, so, according to legend, they prevented the further spread of the epidemic.
A rich collection of ex-votos is inside the Sanctuary.
(source www.comune.palermo.it)
For more information and timetable: http://www.santuariosantarosalia.it/
The visits to the shrine have been suspended during the Masses
Municipal buses n ° 812 from Politeama or Via Libertà