The Sanctuary–Basilica of Our Lady of the Graces and Santa Maria Goretti lies on the former site of the small Church of the Annunciation.

According to tradition, the statue of the Virgin Mary was brought here in 1550 from Britain, where the schism with the Anglican Church, ordered by Henry VIII, led to monasteries and churches being confiscated and their holy statues and paintings destroyed. Some sailors loaded a statue of the Virgin Mary plus those of a few other saints onto their boat heading to Naples, in an attempt to save them from the whirlwind of destruction.

But there was an extremely violent storm at sea and the ship was forced to land on the Nettuno coast. The wooden statue of the Virgin Mary was unloaded and given to the priests who ran a small church nearby. The arrival of the Virgin Mary on the Nettuno coast was interpreted as Our Lady of the Graces’ desire to stay in this location.
Our Lady of the Graces was at the centre of an active cult of worship, and she is celebrated in the month of May, when the statue is transported to the Collegiate Church of San Giovanni and then carried back to her original base a week later. In 1888, the Church was taken over by the Passionist Fathers. Restoration and extension works followed in 1912, 1931 and 1996. The current Sanctuary has an upper floor, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saints Sebastian and Rocco, and there is also a crypt, containing the remains of Saint Maria Goretti, held here since 1929.