grotto, natural or artificial cave used as a decorative feature in 18th-century European gardens. Grottoes derived from natural caves were regarded in antiquity as dwelling places of divinities.
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Today, artificial grottoes are purchased and built for ornamental and devotional purposes. They are often used as shrines in which to place statues of saints, particularly the Virgin Mary, in outdoor gardens. Many Roman Catholics visit a grotto where Bernadette Soubirous saw apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes.
The word “grotto” has become used almost exclusively to refer to Catholic shrines built into a rock formation. Often these rock formations are man-made, but they can also be found in natural caves throughout the world. Grottoes originated in both Greek and Roman culture and were associated with various gods.
The holy site known as the Nativity Grotto is thought to be the cave in which Jesus was born. In 135, Emperor Hadrian had the site above the grotto converted into a worship place for Adonis, the mortal lover of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty and desire.
A grotto is a natural or artificial cave, one that is often associated with religious devotion. Grotto comes from the Italian word grotta, which is related to our word grotesque. In the 15th century, Romans discovered a series of underground rooms dating back to the reign of the Emperor Nero.
The Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption is a religious shrine in West Bend, Iowa, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux City. A conglomeration of nine grottos depicting scenes in the life of Jesus, it contains a large collection of minerals and petrifications and is believed to be the largest grotto in the world.