Santissima Annunziata

Kraak! Just a short walk from Piazza San Giacomo, along Via SS. Annunziata, you’ll find a place that feels suspended between wind and devotion: the Church of the SS. Annunziata, also known as Madonna della Libera. A quiet presence, like a boat that knows its harbor well.

Criii! It is believed to have been built by Benedictine monks on the foundations of an earlier chapel dating back to 1521. However, the appearance you see today comes from reconstruction works in the 17th century. Did you know every stone here carries more than one story?

Squa-squa! The building follows a Latin cross layout — meaning the central arm is longer — and inside you’ll find three aisles. At the end of the central one stands the main altar, with a marble edicule — an architectural frame — holding a painting of the Annunciation from the 18th century.

Kraak! In that artwork, the Archangel Gabriel holds a lily as he bows before the Virgin Mary. A simple gesture, yet powerful like the sea when the wind shifts. Have you ever paused here in silence to take it in?

Criii! And then there’s the Chapel of Madonna della Libera, built in 1833, where a wooden statue of the Virgin from the 19th century stands prominently. A presence that lingers, like salt on your skin after a day by the sea.