Hermitage of St Gandolfo

The original church of San Gandolfo at the hermitage was built around 1320, the year the saint became protector of the town of Polizzi Generosa. Its location is no accident: it is said that it was in this very area that San Gandolfo performed the first of his miracles, giving speech to a mute man. The building underwent various alterations over time and in 1765 it was rebuilt and moved further forward because of structural damage. A small dwelling for the hermit-custodian was also built next to the church, together with a cemetery used for only a few years at the end of the 19th century.

The little church today has a single-nave plan and, on the main altar, a niche housing the wooden sculpture of San Gandolfo, dating from the 19th century and by an unknown artist.

This place, surrounded by nature, is still a destination for pilgrimage and an object of great devotion: every seventh Wednesday after Easter it is customary to celebrate a great feast in honour of the patron saint, walking up to the hermitage from the Mother Church of Polizzi behind the saint's relic.