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Basilica of the Annunciation. The most important place in Nazareth is obviously the Cave of the Annunciation, carved in the rock, which is, according to the long Tradition of the Church, the place of …More
Basilica of the Annunciation.

The most important place in Nazareth is obviously the Cave of the Annunciation, carved in the rock, which is, according to the long Tradition of the Church, the place of the announcement of the incarnation by the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary. It is upon this holy place that the Basilica of the Annunciation is built, in the heart of Nazareth and its mystery.

Pierre Perrier
Orientalist
“Technically, there is no shadow of a doubt. This is one of the best attested centers in the world, from the fact of the archeological layers, there is much written about it, everything is consistent… And finally there is no opposition. Nobody has said this is what the Christian tradition recounts in the Gospels – here is the hidden life of Jesus of Nazareth – it did not exist. In these places, there are some in which you may have doubt about the attribution, but on the problem of the house of Mary, I think no one has any doubt. There are too many corroborating elements… Many ancient texts speak of it. And as far as I know, nobody really doubts these elements-which are too coherent.”

Friar Eugenio Alliata
Italian Institute of Archeology – Jerusalem
“The major criterion which is used for defining the authenticity of a place usually consists in the possibility of following a chain of traditions over the centuries, and of following the events which take place in that location up until the most recent events which have been recounted. The closer we get to the time of Jesus, the more we can be sure that the place in question is authentic. In Nazareth, the place which preserves the greatest – I would say – authenticity – is obviously the Cave of the Annunciation.”

Alessandra Angeloni
University of Florence, Italy
“What we can say, above all, is that there is a tradition of worship in the holy place at that specific point, in the cave which traditionally is called the ‘Cave of the Annunciation’. It has always been venerated as such. The archeological evidence that we exclusively have gathered is the presence of some very important graffiti which give us a high percentage of probability about the presence of the house of Mary around this cave.”