The Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Positano
Situated in Positano’s Piazza Flavio Gioia, a few steps from the beach of Marina Grande (and just over 10 kilometres from our boutique hotel), the Church of Santa Maria Assunta is an architectural jewel and the town’s most important monument. Easily recognisable from every corner of Positano, thanks to its colourful majolica dome, it stands out gracefully on almost every postcard of the town. You cannot leave the coast without taking at least one photo of this fascinating building. If you visit it at weekends, you may even have the opportunity to see a few weddings. In fact, it is one of the most popular churches in the entire area for would-be brides and grooms.
According to tradition, its origins are linked to the arrival in Positano of a Byzantine icon depicting a Black Madonna with child on her lap, which is still venerated today. It is said that, many years ago, a sailing ship coming from the Orient, carrying a painting of the Virgin Mary, ran into a lull off the coast of Positano. The sailors tried everything to get it going again but all attempts were in vain. At one point they heard a voice coming from the painting of the Madonna saying ‘Posa … Posa’. So it was that the crew pointed the bow towards the coast and the ship started moving again. When they reached the beach, they gave the painting to the locals, who took it to a church near Piazza dei Mulini. The next morning, however, the painting was found in a broom bush near the sea. This prompted the people of Positano to build a new church there, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta. Actually, it is likely that the icon arrived in Positano around the 12th century, transported by Benedictine monks, who had an abbey monastery here.
Documents testifying to the existence of the church date back to the 10th and 11th centuries. The document allowing the free navigation of the waters of the Duchy of Sorrento to Abbot Mansone dates back to the 11th century, while the document certifying the dedication of the church to the Blessed Virgin Mary dates back to 14 June 1159. The new consecration was probably due to the fact that the church was rebuilt or at least completely restored. With the passage of time, it increased both its wealth and its possessions, which extended as far as Amalfi and Sorrento. It had great prestige until the middle of the 15th century, after which it began a phase of decline, perhaps due to the continuous incursions of marauders of Saracen or Cilentan origin. The situation remained precarious until the second half of the 18th century, when the church underwent a total renovation. Its current appearance is due to 18th-century work and the restoration of the stucco and gilding carried out about a century later. Other special interventions were carried out in 1927, with the reconstruction of the façade by engineer Michele Chioccarelli, and in 1982 to adapt the temple to the requirements of the liturgical reform ordered by the Second Vatican Council.
Positioned on the top of a hillock of probable alluvial origin, the church has a Trani marble façade with three entrance portals: the central one, made of bronze, is larger, set in a cornice and ends with a lowered tympanum, while the two smaller side portals are surmounted by commemorative plaques. The maiolica tiled dome is covered with the classic Vietri ‘riggiole’ in the colours of yellow, indicating the sun, green, recalling the surrounding vegetation, and blue, evoking the sea. Next to the church, the bell tower is decorated at the bottom with a 13th-century bas-relief depicting fantastic animals, including a pistrice.
Step inside to admire its enchanting classical-style interior, with columns topped by gilded Ionic capitals and cherubs peeping out from almost every arch. Above the high altar stands the small temple with the famous Byzantine icon of the Virgin. Instead, to the right of the high altar is the Chapel of St Stephen, which houses the 18th century wooden statue of the Madonna and Child. Among the works of art present are a valuable Christ at the Column by Michele Trillocco from 1798, the painting of the Madonna del Carmine from the Carthusian monastery of Serra San Bruno and the painting of the Circumcision by Fabrizio Santafede from 1599.
The day dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption, Positano’s patron saint, is 15 August, but the celebrations last for 18 days, from 5 to 22 August.
