Santuario della Madonna delle Grazie

Just outside Teramo's medieval walls, the Sanctuary of Madonna delle Grazie combines a Franciscan history with a collection of medieval and Renaissance art. Its devotional centre is a polychrome wooden Madonna and Child attributed to Silvestro dell'Aquila; its cloister preserves early twelfth-century capitals.

Why it matters

The sanctuary began as a Benedictine nuns' monastery dedicated to Sant'Angelo delle Donne. In 1448 it was given to the Observant Franciscans, and the community's presence continues to shape the site's identity. A major rebuilding in 1892–1900 gave the church its present neo-Renaissance appearance while retaining the earlier cloister.

What to notice

The brick facade has a rose window, a small portico of round arches and three entrance portals. Inside, a single nave leads beneath cross vaults to a hemispherical dome frescoed by architect Cesare Mariani. A chapel holds the seated Madonna and Child, a fifteenth-century polychrome wooden sculpture attributed to Silvestro dell'Aquila. A detached Maestà fresco with saints has been attributed to Pietro Alemanno. In the convent cloister, stone columns carry Lombard-Byzantine capitals from the early twelfth century.

Context and history

The monastery stood outside Teramo's walls when the city was sacked and burned around 1156. In 1448, by order of Pope Eugene IV, the church was enlarged and assigned to the Observant Franciscans of Giacomo della Marca. After later restorations and consolidation, architect Cesare Mariani directed the major rebuilding of 1892–1900 and frescoed the dome. The Maestà fresco, once attributed to Carlo Crivelli, is now attributed by modern scholarship to Pietro Alemanno.