The Sanctuary rises in the most extreme part of the region, called Santa Maria di Leuca or Santa Maria De Finibus Terrae.
The former name originates from the place that the Greeks called 'Leucos', meaning the white laughing land lit by the sun. The Romans, on the other hand, called it 'De Finibus Terrae', i.e. at the ends of the earth, to indicate the extreme limit of the Roman 'Cives', beyond which the 'Provinciales', i.e. the settlers, began.
Today, Leuca also tends to be called 'Our Lady of the Frontiers', since, from the extreme edge of Italy, the Virgin Mary opens her arms wide towards the East to overcome all barriers and make of the whole world one people of God.