Archivio storico del Santuario

The historical archive of the Sanctuary of Vicoforte preserves records of the complex's construction, religious community and administration. Its holdings include Cesare Trombetta's account book for the building campaign of 1594–96, records of the Cistercians, inventories and the papers of the Ceva family.

Why it matters

The archive documents how a devotional site developed into a major religious and architectural complex. Trombetta's account book records expenditure for the sanctuary's construction, while monastic records and inventories illuminate the institution's religious life, resources and artistic heritage. The papers of the Ceva family add evidence of the connections between noble patronage and Marian devotion.

What to notice

The account book kept by Cesare Trombetta from September 1594 to March 1596 offers a detailed record of the sanctuary's building work. Related records include the 1595–1601 Memorie intorno alla Santissima Vergine di Vico, the Ceva family papers and technical notebooks by engineer Martino Garro, who directed work at the sanctuary from 1939 to 1968. Together, these materials document construction, devotion, patronage and later structural interventions.

Context and history

The sanctuary's records were dispersed during the nineteenth century, with portions kept in the former chapel of the Minor Seminary and in the bishop's curia in Mondovì. In 1982 the sanctuary administration reunited the collections under rector Mario Ansaldi and sacristy prefect Enrico Nasi. Further searches recovered material from the sanctuary and former monastery. The fonds now document the building campaign around the medieval pilone, the Cistercian community, the Scuole Apostoliche and modern engineering work.