The Grotto of the crib is a simple recess in the volcanic rock, beside Santa Maria della Neve church. Until the 18C, fishermen and bandits used the grotto as a place of refuge before being remodelled as a crib in which 32 life-size wax figures tell the story of the miraculous birth of Christ. The clothes of the three wise men are truly beautiful and deserve a good look.

The church was begun in the 13C and has been altered many times since. Of the original, only the powerful Norman apses decorated with sober small blind arcades remain. The neoGothic facade and campanile are from the 19C.

In front of the church there is a cobbled parvis. The church has an attractive facade in golden stone adorned with a balustrade enlivened with statues and a magnificent doorway surrounded by torso columns which are topped by garlands of fruit: the euphoric Baroque style continues inside with frescoes by Crestadoro.

Despite the name, it was never an abbey but a massive tower. The style and the two-coloured frieze which bounds and underline the storeys, like floral lacework, and the attractive twin windows are very reminiscent of the Santo Stefano palace.