Eremo di Santa Rosalia alla Quisquina, Baroque hermitage in Santo Stefano Quisquina, Italy.

The Eremo di Santa Rosalia alla Quisquina stands at 986 metres on the slopes of Monte Quisquina, in the territory of Santo Stefano Quisquina. Its architecture is described as environmental: the church, crypt, cells, kitchen and refectory were built in stages and merge with the surrounding landscape. The hermitage grew next to the cave where Saint Rosalia is said to have lived for twelve years.

In 1624, two workers from Palermo found an inscription in a cave on the mountain that was linked to Saint Rosalia, and this discovery led to the founding of the hermitage. The site was gradually enlarged and shaped into its baroque form during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Rosalia is said to have lived in the cave for twelve years, probably from 1150 to 1162. Each year the silver half-bust of the saint, kept in the mother church of Santo Stefano Quisquina, is carried here on foot on the Tuesday after the first Sunday of June.

The path to the hermitage is steep and runs through wooded terrain, so sturdy footwear is a good idea. A visit is more comfortable in clear weather, when the surrounding mountain views are also at their best.

Inside the cave that started the whole site, an inscription carved into the rock and attributed to Saint Rosalia is still visible today. This makes the cave one of the few places in Sicily where devotion to the saint is tied directly to a physical mark left in stone.