Santuario di Santa Maria in Monte Penice

The Sanctuary of Santa Maria in Monte Penice stands at the summit of Monte Penice, 1,460 metres above sea level. From its terrace, the Trebbia and Staffora valleys open toward the Apennines and, on clear days, the Alps.

Why it matters

The sanctuary became the principal Marian shrine of the Bobbio diocese after passing from the monastery of San Colombano to the diocese in the early nineteenth century. A ninth-century source refers to the mountaintop church as the “oracolo di Santa Maria,” while the first certain evidence of worship there dates to the eleventh century.

What to notice

The church was rebuilt with three naves in 1818. Its Madonna and Child, carved by Giovanni Garbarino in 1861, replaced an earlier statue. The portico dates to 1871–72 and was rebuilt in 1905; the bell tower was added in 1968.

Context and history

In 1073, the priest Giselberto donated property to the monastery of San Colombano, partly to support the rebuilding of the church on Monte Penice. The sanctuary later served as a hermitage between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. Marian celebrations associated with the shrine include devotion to the Santissimo Nome di Maria and a torchlit Assumption procession.