Visitors cannot remain impassive when they visit the hermitage, from the outside of which they can contemplate a panoramic view of the beaches of Santa Cristina and Cala Treumal, both located under the mound on which the emblematic temple was built. Travelling to Lloret de Mar means getting to know small corners that are beautiful in themselves, and which also allow you to observe the impressive landscape of cliffs, sand and rocks washed by the waves that forms the Costa Brava. And this is precisely what this sacred place offers to the inhabitants of the city.
The Hermitage of Santa Cristina is so important that year after year, Lloret de Mar celebrates a festival in her honour around 24 May, the day on which her name day is celebrated. In this way, her link with sailors, fishermen and all the inhabitants of the municipality in the La Selva region is unbreakable: the saint has been venerated for centuries, and her relationship with the environment surrounding the temple is as strong as the stone that supports it.
Construction and history of the Hermitage of Santa Cristina
Although the current hermitage dates back to the 18th century, it is known that the first news about it dates back to 1376, which demonstrates the antiquity of the admiration felt by the inhabitants of Lloret de Mar for Saint Christina. The temple is in a neoclassical style, which predominantly evokes Greco-Roman architecture.
Some of the most important features of the temple are its main altar, made in Italy from marble of different colours, and a large altarpiece by an unknown author from the Tuscan School, which represents the death of the saint. Located near the road that bears her name, the hermitage, built in a single nave, has two side chapels that, despite being connected to the central one, act as different corridors.
Relationship of the people of Lloret with Santa Cristina
As we have pointed out, there are several places in the town that have been named after the martyr; but the relationship of the citizens of Lloret de Mar with her goes far beyond simple baptisms; starting with the construction of the temple itself. Many of the inhabitants of the Catalan town contributed financial support; paying for the entire building, and also counting on the work of those who could not contribute money, in their free time.
Another example of the immense veneration felt for Saint Christina can be seen in the very interior of the temple's sacristy, where numerous miniatures of ships that sailors offered to the saint as votive offerings are on display, many of which have reached an incalculable value today.
Finally, the relics of Santa Cristina are also of incalculable value; they were obtained by the people of Lloret, and of which only the skull and a small bone that is transported each year in the maritime procession to celebrate the festivities remain; a revolt in 1936 led to the disappearance of a rib and the femur, also part of the municipality's heritage. On July 24, in addition to the aforementioned procession, the fishermen's guild has a breakfast under the tree known as the Pi Centenari; another of the city's emblems.