Church of "Santa Maria di Portosalvo"

The sanctuary of Santa Maria di Portosalvo is a religious building in Pozzallo. The church of Santa Maria della Fiducia, located on the outskirts, on the road to Ispica, is also annexed to the parish.
A small building was built, and then used as a church, in 1746, built on a spur of rock adjacent to the sea by the first inhabitants who settled in Pozzallo. In 1822, however, the Campanian merchant Vincenzo Falanca, who had very fortunately survived a shipwreck and managed to find shelter on the coast, near the church, decided to donate to the town a wooden statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, the work of the Neapolitan sculptor Francesco Verzella, which was placed in the high altar. Initially dependent on the parish of San Pietro di Modica, it was elevated to a separate parish on January 30, 1886 by the bishop of Noto Giovanni Blandini and at the same time dedicated to San Giuseppe, who became the first patron saint of Pozzallo.
The structure was heavily damaged during the Second World War, only to be rebuilt in the following years.
On September 15, 2022, on the occasion of the bicentenary of the donation of the statue of the Addolorata, the parish was elevated to the rank of sanctuary by the bishop of Noto, Antonio Staglianò.
There are two facades: the original one, in classical style, and the one in modern style. The church is divided into three naves (two lateral and one central). In the lateral naves there are numerous paintings, by Valente Assenza. Other works of interest are the high altar, by Antonino Assenza, and the baptismal font, dated 1770, by Stefano Calabrese.