Fodor's Expert Review Santuario dell’Annunziata

This sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin Mary and local saints is one of Sicily's most revered religious sites, visited by devout pilgrims from all over the country. The complex was originally built for the Carmelite religious order in 1332, and its most treasured object is the life-size statue of the Madonna di Trapani, serenely smiling and holding the infant Jesus, thought to be the work of Nino Pisano or his studio. The importance of the sanctuary to the local fishing community is shown in the chapel dedicated to sailors, displaying scallop-shell motifs over every window as well as over the altar itself, and in one chapel dedicated to fishermen, dating from the 16th century. A separate room holds numerous ex-voto paintings of sailing vessels beset by stormy waters.