Santuario Reale Votivo Madonna delle Grazie

The Royal Votive Sanctuary of Madonna delle Grazie in Racconigi grew from a Marian devotion traditionally dated to 1493. Rebuilt in the nineteenth century at the expense of King Carlo Alberto, it combines a neoclassical design with memories of the Savoy family.

Why it matters

The sanctuary joins a longstanding local Marian cult with the history of the House of Savoy. Carlo Alberto commissioned its reconstruction, and the interior preserves Savoy heraldry and memorials associated with the Savoia-Villafranca branch. The site is also associated with devotion to Saint Jude Thaddeus.

What to notice

The Greek-cross plan is fronted by a pronaos of six stone columns and surmounted by a lead-covered dome. Above the altar is a venerated image of the Madonna painted on walnut wood. The interior includes a mosaic of the Savoy arms, a blue coffered dome with twelve golden stars, and side altars with paintings by Pietro Ayres and Francesco Gonin. Memorials and tombs of the Savoia-Villafranca family recall its dynastic associations.

Context and history

Tradition recounts a Marian apparition beside the Maira on 16 July 1493 and the recovery of speech by a shepherd boy, Giò Antonio Chiavassa. A walnut-wood image of the Virgin is said to have been painted in thanksgiving and remains venerated. Carmelite friars established a convent by 1494. Napoleonic suppression ended convent life in 1802, and the old church was later demolished. In 1837 Carlo Alberto ordered a new church designed by court architect Ernesto Melano; it opened for worship in 1838 and was consecrated by Archbishop Luigi Fransoni. The cult of Saint Jude Thaddeus later became an important part of the sanctuary's identity.