Santuario della Madonna dei Miracoli di Castel Rigone

The Sanctuary of the Madonna dei Miracoli stands on the ridge at Castel Rigone. Built in sandstone from 1494 under a papal bull, it is a Renaissance church with a sculpted façade, a rose window and frescoes associated with Umbrian and Tuscan painters.

Why it matters

The sanctuary is among Umbria's notable Renaissance buildings. Its construction followed a local tradition of a Marian apparition at the village well in 1490; Pope Alexander VI authorised the building by papal bull in 1494. The church's art includes a venerated Madonna and Child fresco, works associated with Tommaso Bernabei, Domenico Alfani and Giovan Battista Caporali, and a Morettini organ.

What to notice

The sandstone façade is attributed to Domenico Bertini da Settignano. Its sculpted portal sits below a rose window described as carrying a wheel-of-fortune motif. Inside, the church has a Latin-cross plan and a single nave. A fresco of the Madonna and Child, of Sienese-school character, is venerated behind a sixteenth-century grille. In the right transept, a stone chapel holds a wooden crucifix and a Deposition fresco attributed to Tommaso Bernabei, known as il Papacello. The main altar carries a copy of Domenico Alfani's Epiphany altarpiece, whose original was taken to Florence in 1643; above it is the Coronation of the Virgin by Caporali and his workshop. The counterfaçade organ was installed in 1878 by the Morettini firm. The bell tower was authorised in 1531, collapsed in 1810 and was rebuilt in 1851.

Context and history

Local tradition recounts that in 1490 a girl drawing water at the village well saw a Lady who asked for a chapel. A votive image of the Virgin nursing the Child was later found among brambles, and devotion grew. The papal bull of 1494 authorised construction, funded by offerings from the faithful. The sanctuary also expressed a vow against plague. Its anonymous architect is described as influenced by the Sienese Francesco di Giorgio Martini and by Bramantesque models. The original Epiphany by Alfani was painted in 1527; the copy now at the altar preserves its place in the church.