Madonna dell’Acero

“A glimmer of light rives the veil of dusty gloom between a maple’s leafy branches, appeasing the gnawing blizzard and embracing the two young shepherds with its warm and maternal rays”

Actually, that Light could have shone everywhere. According to the Gospel, there are no limits to the Divine Providence, and yet the Virgin Mary chose a maple, not a fir or a chestnut tree, but a tough maple, grown steady where for other plants it was impossible to survive.

The Sanctuary of Madonna dell’Acero is surprising in its simplicity and harmony. The building, of rustic style, is not the product of any important architect, but the result of the deeply rooted devotion of the local community, transferred to the complex’s genuine and natural aspect, hardly found elsewhere.

This Latin-cross plan sanctuary was built on the remains of the first tempietto (little temple), lying beneath the high altar (the church’s oldest part, located just next to the bell tower), originally erected to commemorate the miracle.

Among the many ex-voto (votive offerings to a saint) preserved within the sanctuary as a symbol of popular gratitude towards the church and the Virgin Mary, a group of wooden statues of exquisite workmanship called “Brunori” will captivate your attention. They were commissioned by the family of the commander Brunetto Brunori as votive offering after miraculously escaping death during the Gavina Battle occurred on the 3rd of August of 1530.

Surrounded by monumental trees, this place is going to impress you with its silence, its meditative atmosphere and its profound aura of devotion, filled by the worshippers’ genuine prayers. 

On the 5th August of every year a big festival with street markets is celebrated.  

We would definitely recommend this destination to autumn Foliage lovers!