San Romedio Sanctuary; Italy's Destination For Bears, Pilgrims And Ukrainian Monks

SAN ROMEDIO, ITALY - JULY 10: A Carpathian Mountain bear named Bruno, saved from captivity at a circus in 2013, lives in an enclosure and is taken care of at the San Romedio Sanctuary on July 10, 2023 in San Romedio, Italy. The presence of the bear at this sanctuary is linked to a legend from the 4th century which would have it that Saint Romedius' (San Romedio in Italian) horse was supposedly attacked by a bear, and he succeeded in taming it. Since 1985, the Sanctuary of San Romedio has provided shelter for specimens of the Trentino bear . Situated near the Austrian border in the Trentino region in northern Italy, San Romedio Sanctuary consists of several chapels and churches built over 900 years attracting around 200.000 pilgrims each year (Photo by Michel Porro/Getty Images)