Santa Maria di Roncisvalle

Along Sulmona's former transhumance route stands the thirteenth-century Church of Santa Maria di Roncisvalle. It was built with a hospital for travellers and retains a frescoed lunette above its entrance, beneath a small portico.

Why it matters

Santa Maria di Roncisvalle served travellers and shepherds moving along the road from Sulmona toward the mountains. It belonged to a hospitaller community associated with the Augustinian order. In 1392, its hospital was incorporated into the larger complex of the Santissima Annunziata.

What to notice

The portico is covered by a lunetted barrel vault. Its round-headed arch is built from squared stone, with the city's coat of arms carved on the keystone. Above the portal, a frescoed lunette depicts the Madonna and Child with saints. Two tall round-headed windows light one flank, while the other side and rear are blind. The church stands on an embankment just outside the urban grid.

Context and history

The church was built in the thirteenth century on a site associated in local accounts with an earlier sanctuary and the lost church of San Vincenzo. Its name recalls the hospitaller order of Santa Maria in Roncisvalle. In the mid-sixteenth century, Pope Paul III recognised the image of the Virgin as miraculous, and transhumant shepherds continued to use the church and nearby fountain. A buttress was added in 1744 after an earthquake. Restoration and requalification works concluded in September 2021.