Santuario di Santa Maria del Giglio

The Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Giglio in Prato grew from the oratory of San Silvestro after a local tradition told of a dried lily blooming again before an image of the Virgin in 1664. The sanctuary’s single nave is covered by seven wooden trusses, and its main altar centers on a venerated fresco of the Madonna nursing the Child.

Why it matters

The reported event of 26 August 1664 led to the transformation of the small oratory into a Marian sanctuary. Reconstruction between 1672 and 1680 created the present church, while its fifteenth-century sandstone portal preserves a feature of the earlier building.

What to notice

The portico shelters the entrance and its carved sandstone portal, dating to the first half of the fifteenth century. Inside, the single nave is roofed by seven wooden trusses. The venerated Madonna del Latte fresco stands at the center of the main altar, framed by Pier Dandini’s 1705 canvas depicting Saints Silvestro, Giacinto and Maddalena.

Context and history

The sanctuary’s history joins an older church site to the devotion that grew around the lily story. The fresco was originally on the exterior wall of the oratory, above an ancient well. After the reported event, the oratory was remodeled as a sanctuary during 1672–1680, and the Marian image was placed at the center of its high altar.