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Hermitage of Trinity
Probably occupied before the christian era, this site is loaded with spirituality and an absolute calm. It unites a hermitage, an oratory, and some granit stones called « the Virgin’s grotto ». Amid this typical mediterranean decor, composed of oak trees, olive trees and an odorant maquis, where the essences of the biome are concentrated, is located the Hermitage of Trinity.
At only 5 kilometers away from the city of cliffs, the unexpected site is at a 200 meters height, overtaking the Strait of Bonifacio, offering visitors a moment of contemplation facing this incredible view. At the very beginning of the christianization of Corsica, it seems the place had been occupied by hermits, before the building of a Carolingian church more lately during the 9th century. The Benedictines and then the Franciscans, who gradually expanded the church over the centuries, settled there. In 1912, a front wall is built and the two pilasters of the newly refurbished facade are prolonged to frame its upper part.
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The people from Bonifacio were, for many, sailors, as the marine cemetery of Bonifacio witnesses it, exposed to the sea’s anger. Grateful to escape from peril and danger, being safe by miracle, sailors or their families let an object in a sacred place as a thank you for this granted blessing. At the heart of the Hermitage of Trinity, these objects, named ex-voto, are in the shape of paintings, of engraved marble plates.
Nearby the Hermitage, the Oratory of Our Lady of Tibhirine is dedicated to the memory of 7 monks of Our Lady of the Atlas Abbey, kidnapped and killed during the Algerian civil war of 1996. Sacred in 2006, it is a place of remembrance for the 7 martyrs, beatified in December, 2018, in Oran. After a moment of contemplation, it is possible to go as far as the Mount of Trinity summit, or to go to the beach of Paragan, its translucent water being an invitation.
The people from Bonifacio were, for many, sailors, as the marine cemetery of Bonifacio witnesses it, exposed to the sea’s anger.
Text & Photos : Sébastien Leroy
