Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Serra

Calvi

A first sanctuary was built in the 15th century on this promontory overlooking Calvi and its Genoese citadel, before being destroyed in 1794 during the siege of the town by the British under Admiral Hood. The present chapel was rebuilt on the ruins from 1850, its architecture being completed in 1860. In October 1950 a first statue of the Virgin, 3 m tall, was installed there, becoming a landmark visible from the open sea for sailors entering the bay. A major restoration of the interior plasterwork and painted decoration was carried out in 2017–2018, but the building suffered a burglary in June 2022 and then, in September of the same year, lightning destroyed the statue of the Virgin; a new 2.5 m statue in Carrara marble was installed in September 2023. Popular tradition holds that couples who come together to pray before Notre-Dame de la Serra will see their love endure. The most renowned viewpoint in the Balagne over the Gulf of Calvi and the Cinto range, the site remains a place of pilgrimage and lively Marian devotion.

Getting there : About 5 km south-west of Calvi by the Route de la Serra (D81b); car park and panoramic viewpoint over the bay and the Revellata peninsula, annual pilgrimage

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

Ambient sound