Monastery of Santa Maria di Orsoleo

The Sanctuary dedicated to Santa Maria di Orsoleo dates back to 1192, when two brothers, who were landowners, purchased a plot of land on which there was a cave – which had served as a place of prayer for hermits and monks – and decided to build a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary there, in the hamlet of Ursolei. According to tradition, the name derives from the fact that a bear and a lion were reportedly seen at the foot of the oak tree on top of which the image of the Virgin Mary was situated.

The most convincing explanation, however, is that the name Orsoleo derives from the words ‘ouros’ and ‘léos’, which in the Greek-Byzantine language mean ‘guardian’ and ‘people’, referring to the spot from which the valley was overlooked and from which the Virgin Mary could therefore protect her people.