The sanctuaries in the Cinque terre are all placed in an high position. They are:

» Nostra Signora (Our Lady) di Soviore, above Monterosso;
» Nostra Signora di Reggio, above Vernazza;
» Nostra Signora della Grazie at S.Bernardino, above Corniglia;
» Nostra Signora delle Salute a Volastra, above Manarola;
» Nostra Signora di Montenero, above Riomaggiore.

All the Sanctuaries are reachable by car.

Some scholar thinks that the church was reconstructed upon a previous one, built by the people escaping from Alboreto, a village that the Longobard of King Rotari destroyed in 642. It's currently thought that this was a faith place in even more ancient ages. This opinion is supported by some archeological founds and it's common to all the other sanctuaries in the Cinque Terre.
In 990 Ottone III visited the sanctuary on his way to Rome, where Pope Gregorio V gave him the imperial crown. It seems that the fame of the miracolous image of the Virgin attracted the king to Soviore.
The large square in front of the church offers an amazing view on Mesco and Monterosso.

The historical information about it date back to the XIII century, but its origins as a place of faith are for sure much more ancient.
Inside the church it's still possible to see some remind of the inhabitants' devotion, strong people who, for ages, faced the hitches of these mountains and of the oceans all over the world. (Marco Antonio Carattino, an admiral of the Republic of Venice at Lepanto's battle was born in Vernazza) This is the reason why on the walls of Our Lady of Reggio Sanctuary still hang some models of vessels and sailing-ships, put there as an "ex-voto". Unfortunately many of these votive offerings were stolen many years ago.
The holy image of Our Lady of Reggio is a byzantine icon, legendary attributed to St. Lucas. On the side of the Sanctuary parvis we find a tomb which, by tradition, belongs to a crusader.
At the entrance of the church square, in the thick of the trees, there is a semi-oval hollow; where a heavy marble basin (probably a sarcophagus) gathers the chilly water coming down from a marble mascaron of exquisite workmanship.
The hollow was accidentally descovered in 1800 after the falling down of a big chestnut tree hit by a lighting and could be an etrusc tomb.

It's placed near S. Bernardino, a small village above Corniglia.
The parvis is a big terrace sheer to the sea (400 mt.!), from where you can enjoy an amazing view of Guvano and Corniglia.
The XVI century church hasn't got any architectural or monumental value

It's in the sorroundings of Volastra, an ancient village above Manarola whose origins are probably romans.
The name Volastra comes from latin "Vicus Oleaster", later "Oleastra", with a clear reference to the olive-trees growing.
In 1560 the Saracens set to fire and destroyed the village.
The small church of romanic style dates back to the X century<.
At its inside we find an interesting "trittico" representing St. Domenico, St. Lorenzo and St. Joan the Battist.

As a place of cristianity is traditionally known since the VII century. The church, riconstructed in 1847, is not of architectural and artistic value.
The church square offers an amazing view: on the west-side the Cinque Terre Gulf and on the east side the steep cliffs sloping down towards Palmaria and Tino islands.