Before you rises Tropea's most iconic sight: the Sanctuary of Santa Maria dell'Isola, a church perched on a rocky promontory plunging straight into the sea. Long ago it was a true islet, cut off from the mainland and reachable only by water; today it is joined to the coast, in the scene everyone now photographs. Its origins reach back to the Middle Ages: it began as a hermitage of Byzantine monks, and from the 11th century Benedictine monks arrived, who kept the faith here along with a precious icon of the Madonna, still venerated in the sanctuary today. To climb up you'll face a stairway carved into the rock: at the top wait a small, fragrant panoramic garden and a view that on clear days reaches all the way to Stromboli, the smoking volcano on the horizon. Look closely at this spot: "where the sea kisses the church" was no ordinary riddle. This is where the corsair Vittorio Wave-Hand lit his light in the storm, and where Elena's grandfather dreamed of setting the Silver Lantern. The sanctuary welcomes visitors; the staircase asks for good legs and comfortable shoes, but the reward at the top is worth every step.
