POINT OF INTEREST

Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Fonte

The Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Fonte is a grandiose monumental complex, located at the end of the long tree-lined avenue that begins with the Porta Nuova arch, close to the city centre. Its origins can be traced back to the famous episode involving the Apparition. On 26th May 1432, peasant girl Giannetta de Vacchi was in the Mazzolengo meadow, near the village of Caravaggio when she was witness to the apparition of a woman whose majesty and beauty she immediately recognised as the Virgin Mary.

To mark the event, a new spring gushed into the field, whose waters were able to heal ailments. In the centuries that immediately followed, a building of worship was erected to remain as an eternal memorial of the event. This building later became what is today the Basilica del Santuario di Caravaggio.

At the site of the original spring stands the Sacro Speco, a room adorned with mosaics and works of art. Here, the waters of the spring, now channelled, can be bottled and drunk. Rising to the surface is the high altar with the monumental dome above. The symmetry between this dome which, at around 60 metres high, dominates the surrounding fields, the high altar of the Sanctuary and the Speco itself, as well as that between the building, the external fountain and the Avenue is a wonderful example of the study of proportions and precision in the architecture of the building. The interior of the basilica is richly decorated with numerous paintings by the Caravaggio masters Moriggia and Cavenaghi, frescoed chapels and a fine organ with over 5,000 pipes that dominates the nave.

In 1992, the Sanctuary of Caravaggio hosted the pastoral visit of Pope John Paul II, who stayed here for three days from 19th to 21st June, during his time in Lombardy. In the hand of the much-venerated statue of Our Lady was placed the rosary beads, a gift from the Pope. The papal apartments and the chapel of the spirituality centre that the Pope inaugurated remain within the Sanctuary complex.

OPENING TIME

HOW TO GET >

INFO AND RESERVATIONS

The Basilica can be visited freely during the opening hours of the Sanctuary, limited to the spaces of the nave and the Sacro Speco.
The spirituality centre and the Pope’s chapel, as well as certain areas of the Basilica can be viewed by prior arrangement with the Sanctuary management.

For information and/or to organise group visits, please contact the Culture Office via cultura@comune.caravaggio.bg.it or call +39 0363 356211, write to the Sanctuary Secretariat at info@santuariodicaravaggio.org or call +39 0363 3571.