Saint Vitalis of Castronovo

Vitalis of Castronovo (Italian: San Vitale) was 10th century Sicilian, Byzantine, Griko hermit, recluse, ascetic, abbot and saint who founded several monasteries in Basilicata and Calabria in the south of Italy (then Griko speaking parts of Byzantine Empire). Saint Vitalius was born in the Sicilian town of Castronovo di Sicilia in the 10 century to wealthy Byzantine family, to pious Griko parents, Sergius and Chrysonίkḗ. He was baptized in the then mother church of Maria Santissima dell'Udienza in Castronovo and educated in the faith by ecclesiastical tutors of the Greek rite: in that island environment, during the time of Arab domination, Christians enjoyed a certain autonomy in religious affairs. However, he, uninterested in studies, developed a spiritual inclination that led him around 950 to become a Monk. He joined the Basilian Monastery of Saint Philip of Agira in ancient Agira, province of Enna, Sicily. Saint Philip Monastery of Agira is situated on the slopes of Etna Volcano, a breeding ground for many famous Calabrian and Sicilian ascetics of the 9th and 10th centuries. Here he received the Angelic Schema after living a life of asceticism, and by making progress in virtue for fifteen years. Five years after his tonsure, with some brothers, he undertook a pilgrimage to holy places in Rome. During the journey, near Terracina (in Campania), a poisonous snake bit him, but he miraculously survived by making the sign of the cross on the wound. On the way back he decided to stop in the wilderness of Calabria and to live as a Hermit which he did for a period of 2 years on a hill near Santa Severina. He then returned to another Basilian monastery on Sicily, near the one in Agira for the next twelve years. After 12 years as a monk at Agira Convent, he withdrew into the Hermitage in the wilderness of Calabria, engaging in further ascetical struggles on the mountain of Lipirachi (Liporachos in Greek, modern Monte Lipiricchio near Reggio di Calabria).