Santa Marian hermitage

A great sanctuary where a spring water flows all year round

Santa Marina is on the route to Vandellòs, a winding road about 4km from Pratdip. This hermitage is in fact a large sanctuary with a spring at the bottom that flows all year. The complex consists of the sanctuary together with the houses around it.
Santa Marina is revered by the inhabitants of Pratdip and other villages in the region. Processions and meetings have been organised since the early seventeenth century to mark the 18 July, the day of St. Marina. The entire chapel presently consists of five buildings that were built during the eighteenth century; the new dwelling for the hermits, the Big House, made up of stables at ground level, and guest accommodation above, and the House of the Fountain, with covered arches and a spring with three taps.
The altar pieces of Santa Marina 
The first altarpiece recorded here is in 1602. It is an altarpiece painted in Gothic-style with signs of Renaissance artwork. This was taken to the church of Santa Maria de Pratdip (which survives to this day) and replaced in 1730 by a magnificent Baroque altarpiece, with a superb carving of Stanta Marina, which for years would be the jewel in the chapel. This altarpiece was destroyed during the Civil War and the chapel was without until 2002, when the current altarpiece was installed.

The current altarpiece
In 1992, restoration work began in the interior of the chapel, and one of the tasks undertaken was the creation of a new altarpiece of Saint Marina. The manager was Carles Arola. The new altarpiece consists of 7 polychrome and gilded panels in gold leaf, which represent the life of the saint; it's crowned by the Nativity of the Virgin. The iconography, theme and structure, is similar to the Renaissance altarpiece, and the tables represent the following: the entrance to the convent of Santa Marina, false accusation, expulsion, penance, death and glory. On the predella, the platform on which sits the altarpiece, are depicted scenes of passion. The murals in the vestiary, on the dome and the doors were also decorated by Carles Arola. In the vestiary, there are representations of the major cities from where the relics of Saint Marina came: Alexandria, Venice, Barcelona and Pratdip. The dome is decorated in a contemporary style with Baroque overtones, typical of the personal style of the artist. At the gates there are representations of the dips, the vampiric creatures that are part of the mythological story of Pratdip.