CHAPELLE SAINTE MARIE - SANTA MARIA DELLA CHJAPELLA +Added to my favoriteItem already present

Presentation

SANTA MARIA della Chjapella - Chapel of SAINT MARY

Features:
- Romanesque chapel: dates from the end of the 11th century.
- Pious church of Santa Maria di a Chjappella, PIEVE of the Roglian Community during the Middle Ages.
- Listed as a Historic Monument in 1990: Architectural feature of its double apse.

The former pilgrimage church of Santa Maria di A Chjappella is located in the commune of Rogliano, at the tip of Cap Corse in the heart of a protected natural site (access: 30 to 40 minutes' walk - Sentier Douanier).
The surroundings of the chapel are magnificent.

Listed as a Historic Monument since 1990, the old church, whose façades are rendered in a whitish plaster, has a single rectangular nave ending in the east with a double semi-circular apse, which is not very common in Corsica.

Examination of the visible masonry of the apses, which are of unequal dimensions, has revealed pre-Romanesque parts in the north apse and Romanesque work dating from the 11th century in the south apse, which is larger and has a narrow window.

The church - which became the property of the Gorgona abbey in the early 12th century - appears to have succeeded earlier buildings dating back to the High Middle Ages or the early Christian period.

The site where Santa Maria stands today was probably the burial ground of a navy that was frequented in ancient times.
Owned by the Conservatoire du Littoral, the shoreline at the tip of Cap Corse, with its succession of rocks and small beaches, has once again become a wilderness.
All around, the hills - where vines and cereals were once grown - are now covered in scrubland.
There are no dwellings to be seen here, apart from a few abandoned "pagliaghji" (French for "straw huts") and, a few hundred metres from the church, the still imposing ruins of a circular tower, the Tour de Sainte Marie, built in the late 1540s to protect against barbarian incursions.
The tower was destroyed by English naval cannons at the end of the 18th century.
It is part of Corsica's fortified heritage of Genoese towers.

*Permanent exhibition Da Capendula a Santa Maria attraversu u Tempu, recounting 2,500 years of maritime history.
Opening times :
July to September - 9.30am to 5pm (free)

GUIDED TOURS available by RESERVATION:
*Consult :
- The Cap Corse guide-lecturers
- Cultural visits - Summer 2025 :
* Ste Marie Chapel - Organised by: Parc Naturel Marin du Cap Corse et de l'Agriate.
* Free themed events - Organised by: Collectivité de Corse.

Access itinerary :
- 1 hour from Macinaggio beach (north of the marina) ;
- 45-minute walk from Tamarone beach (along the coast);
- 20 minutes inland from Tamarone beach.

Child benefits

No