Santuario Nostra Signora delle Grazie e Santa Maria Goretti

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Grace and Saint Maria Goretti stands at the edge of Nettuno's historic quarter. Built by the Passionist Fathers in 1914, it brings together devotion to a Madonna whose arrival is described in local tradition and the veneration of Maria Goretti, whose remains have rested in the crypt since 1929.

Why it matters

The sanctuary unites two strands of Nettuno's religious history. Its Marian devotion centres on a wooden statue traditionally said to have arrived on the coast in 1550. The crypt holds the remains of Maria Goretti, the young martyr canonised by Pope Pius XII in 1950. Her story of forgiveness after the 1902 attack that led to her death became a lasting part of twentieth-century Catholic devotion.

What to notice

The building has an upper church and a crypt. The upper level is dedicated to the Madonna, Saint Sebastian and Saint Rocco; the statue of Our Lady of Grace is the focus of the older local devotion. In the crypt, a marble monument by the sculptor Zaccagnini marks the resting place of Maria Goretti. The two levels reflect the sanctuary's distinct Marian and Goretti traditions.

Context and history

The sanctuary was built on the site of an earlier chapel dedicated to the Annunziata and known as San Rocco. The Passionists took charge of the church in 1888, and the present building was erected in 1914 with support from Pope Pius X. Maria Goretti was born in Corinaldo in 1890 and died in 1902 after being attacked at Ferriere di Conca. Her remains were transferred to Nettuno in 1929, making the sanctuary a centre of devotion to the young saint. The account of the Madonna's 1550 arrival remains a local tradition.