Chiesa della Madonna del Lago

The Church of the Madonna delle Grazie stands beside the natural pond below the walls of Santo Stefano di Sessanio. Regional sources date the modest, Baroque-character building to the seventeenth century.

Why it matters

Set outside the fortified village, the church and pond form part of the settlement's historic landscape. The regional tourism account identifies the sanctuary as the Madonna of the Lake, while the FAI village record refers to the Madonna delle Grazie and describes the pond before it. These names preserve two aspects of the same waterside devotion.

What to notice

The church is a single-room building, once fronted by a portico that opened its facade toward the water. The 2009 earthquake destroyed the portico, leaving the damage legible in the building's exterior. Accounts describe three altars and a small stone image of the Madonna delle Grazie; local tradition recalls a recess behind the image for ex-voto offerings.

Context and history

The building belongs to the seventeenth century, when the Baronia di Carapelle passed to Francesco I de' Medici in 1579 and Santo Stefano di Sessanio still drew wealth from sheep and wool. Local guide tradition attributes the church to Giuseppe Anelli and dates it to 1668, describing it as an expression of gratitude to the Madonna; these details are traditions rather than established archival facts.

The pond has a much older human history. The municipality records prehistoric finds, including Neolithic pottery of the “a squame” type, near the village lake. The church, water and fortified settlement thus bring together layers of devotion and habitation. The 2009 earthquake also damaged other historic buildings in the village, including the Palazzo del Capitano.