Cave of San Ciriaco

The cave of San Ciriaco, known as Venicelle, opens at the foot of Monte Romano, near the Corvino stream, in the territory of Buonvicino. Here Ciriaco da Buonvicino, a Greek monk and hieromonk, a disciple of Saint Nilus of Rossano since the age of twenty, withdrew for the ascetic life, alternating the solitude of the hermitage with the communal life of the monastery. Ciriaco is remembered as a man of learning, an exorcist and a healer: he wrote in Greek a biblical Lectionary dated 2 June 991, kept in the Vatican Library, followed his master to Serperi, Rome and Grottaferrata, and later returned to Calabria. He died on 19 September, according to tradition in 1030, and was buried in the monastery of Santa Maria dei Padri, later called San Ciriaco, at Scala. Every year, on 17 September, Buonvicino climbs in pilgrimage to the cave; two days later, on 19 September, the patron saint’s feast is celebrated. In the village the saint is also recalled by the great bronze statue by Michele Zappino, 7 metres high, on the Zaccaniello spur.