THE HERMITAGE OF SAN MARTINO RESTORED AND INAUGURATED

Great celebration for the community of S. Martino and for the whole city for the recovery of the Hermitage.

The Hermitage of San Martino was inaugurated on the day dedicated to its Saint, with great popular participation, which after over 40 years, saw the thousand-year-old hermitage returned to its natural religious function, but also as a place for cultural events. After the firing of the Pistonieri Santa Maria del Rovo and the sound of the clarions, the ribbon cutting ceremony took place with the Mayor Vincenzo Servalli, the Archbishop Orazio Soricelli, the Regional Councilor for Territorial Government and Urban Planning Bruno Discepolo, the President of the Regional Budget Commission Franco Picarone, the municipal councilor delegated to the Pics Anna Padovano Sorrentino, the vicar of the Archbishop's Curia Don Beniamino D'Arco and the parish priest of San Martino Don Francesco Della Monica who coordinated the religious functions and the Holy Blessing. Unfortunately, the announced presence of President De Luca was canceled at the last moment due to an unexpected commitment. “A special day and truly full of emotions – states the Mayor Vincenzo Servalli – today we return to the city a place of history, memory and the deepest spirituality of the Cavesi. It is no coincidence that in planning the Pics funds I wanted the hermitage and our castle, practically in ruins, to be fully recovered with extraordinary restoration work to bring them back to full use. Places that represent the soul, the identity of us people from Cave who will become great attractions included in the tourist itineraries of our historical, cultural and architectural heritage". The recovery and refunctionalization of the Hermitage of San Martino was financed by the P.O. Fers Campania “014 – 2020, Axis X Sustainable Urban Development of the Integrated Sustainable City Program (Pics) for an amount of 739,403.60 euros. “A non-circumstantial applause to Mayor Servalli and to the entire municipal administration – states Councilor Discepolo – for having once again demonstrated efficiency and competence in the management of Pics funds. This morning we are inaugurating a new work and others will be completed soon. The Region will do its part in supporting the City of Cava de' Tirreni". The students of the primary school of Santa Maria del Rovo also participated in the party and recited a poem for the occasion and presented some work on the hermitage. “This inauguration – states Councilor Padovano – is not a point of arrival but must be a starting point. In line with the Pics mission, the aim is not only to structurally recover the works, but also to activate and promote processes of social, cultural and tourist valorisation, in the name of sustainability. The hermitage is a place of extraordinary beauty and our commitment, but also that of the Community of San Martino, will be to make it, respecting the spirituality of the place, a center of culture that goes beyond the borders of the city". Then, in the afternoon, with a solemn Eucharistic Celebration, the Archbishop of Amalfi Cava de'Tirreni, H.E. Monsignor Orazio Soricelli officiated the Rite of Dedication to the cult of the Hermitage of San Martino, with the participation of the Abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of the Holy Trinity, Dom Michele Petruzzelli, of the Presbyters, Deacons and of the Parish Priest of Santa Maria del Rovo Don Francesco Della Monica to whom the Community of San Martino territorially belongs. The Mayor Vincenzo Servalli participated in the celebration, accompanied by the municipal councilor with delegation to the Pics, Anna Padovano Sorrentino. With the greeting of the flags and clarions of Casale Santa Maria del Rovo and the firing of the pistoniers, Archbishop Soricelli opened the door of the Church followed in procession by the Celebrants and the faithful. With the prayer of dedication, the anointing of the altar and the walls of the church with chrism, the incensation and the illumination, the Church of the Hermitage of San Martino fully returns to being a place of worship for all the faithful.

12-11-24 Antonio Di Martino