Santuario della Madonna del Monte

Above Rovereto stands the seventeenth-century Santuario della Madonna del Monte, built in 1603 and shaped by a history of devotion, closure and renewed worship.

Why it matters

The sanctuary was built in 1603 at the expense of Alessio Tomasini, archpriest of Lizzana, around a venerated image of the Madonna and Child. It was known by successive titles, including dell’Assunzione, dell’Annunciazione and della Consolatrice degli afflitti; the popular name Madonna del Monte refers to its hillside setting. The Consolata Missionaries began their work here in 1925, fostering missionary vocations. The sanctuary’s ex-votos preserve a record of local devotional practice.

What to notice

The Baroque-Rococo façade contrasts with the sanctuary’s smaller scale. Inside, a fresco of the Madonna and Child by an unknown artist is considered its oldest artistic element. Painted and written ex-votos record generations of popular devotion. The sanctuary was guarded by hermits in its early centuries, before the Consolata Missionaries took up residence in 1925.

Context and history

The sanctuary was closed and put to secular use in 1787, then reopened in March 1790. Giovanni Battista de Tacchi later acquired the complex, and his family built its mausoleum beside the shrine. The Consolata Missionaries settled here in 1925; a centre devoted to missionary activity and vocations followed in 1988.