Le Christ noir des Miracles (pro-cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste)

Calvi

At the top of the citadel of Calvi, the pro-cathedral of Saint-Jean-Baptiste keeps, to the right of the choir, a crucifix of dark wood that the people of Calvi call the Black Christ of the Miracles. Tradition tells that in 1553, when the Franco-Turkish fleet — with the corsairs of Dragut and the troops rallied to Sampiero Corso — besieged the town, which had remained loyal to Genoa, the inhabitants carried the Christ in procession along the ramparts: the fleet lifted the siege, and the city saw in it a miracle. Genoa rewarded this heroic loyalty by granting the town its proud motto, carved above the citadel gate: Civitas Calvi Semper Fidelis. The crucifix, whose present figure dates from the 17th century, comes from the neighbouring oratory of Saint-Antoine, seat of the confraternities that still animate the religious life of Calvi; it has been listed as a monument historique since 1959. Its protective power is not confined to the past: on 16 March 2020, in the face of the Covid-19 epidemic, the brothers of Saint-Antoine and Saint-Érasme carried it once more along the ramparts to bless the town, renewing the gesture of 1553. Every Good Friday, the Black Christ goes out in procession with the cathedral's Black Virgin, as a sign of mourning, in one of the most fervent Holy Weeks in Corsica. Between the lanes of the upper town, the Genoese cannon and the immense bay, the whole history of a fortress city is told around a crucifix.

Getting there : At the highest point of the citadel of Calvi, reached on foot by the ramps of the ramparts; church open during the day, free admission. Coordinates given for the citadel.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound