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Sanctuary of Madonna del Frassino
- Category What see Lake Garda and Verona
Sanctuary of Madonna del Frassino in Peschiera del Garda.
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The Sanctuary of the Madonna del Frassino
The Sanctuary of the Madonna del Frassino is located in Peschiera del Garda and is accompanied by a spectacular cypress-lined avenue that precedes its arrival. It was built between 1511 and 1514 and together with the harmonious and elegant architectural structure, it has a Doric-style portico.
The building has a single nave, embellished with 8 side altars and 2 chapels (SS.mo Sacramento and of the Apparition). The origins of this sanctuary date back to 11 May 1510, when outside the walls of Peschiera, the Madonna appeared to the farmer Bartolomeo Broglia, the first stone was placed on 10 September 1511.
Over time, it encountered frequent devastation and ruins, but was always promptly restored. The last restoration (1996-1998) restored the splendor of the early 1600s and the decorations of 1930.
What to see at the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Frassino
The Outside
At the end of a wide avenue flanked by stupendous cypresses and at the foot of the verdant Garda hills, we discover the Sanctuary of S. Maria del Frassino.
The space that precedes the church is closed on both sides by two arcades built in 1959 to define a square. The two structures supported by Doric columns take up the characteristics of the seventeenth-century portico of the facade: the right portico (wall on which inscriptions about historical events can be identified) which limits the cemetery, while on the left it stands on the Franciscan house built starting in 1926 and subsequently transformed.
The gabled façade has undergone numerous operations over time. The lower part has remained unchanged and instead the upper one was renovated three times during the twentieth century, showing today a structure in which a circular rose window stands out.
The Doric Portico
In the lower part of the façade, there is the Doric portico with three spans leaning against the façade by 1642; in fact in that year the presence of the frescoes on the sides of the portal and on the three lunettes above is reported. The paintings are probably the work of Bernardino Muttoni, perhaps helped by his son.
Scenes related to the history of the sanctuary are depicted on the lunettes, following the events that will then be narrated by the convent guardian Bartolomeo Spiciani, in a publication relating to the miraculous discovery of the statuette of Mary in 1656.
In the lunette on the left the archpriest of Peschiera is depicted looking for the statuette that he had placed in a chest after his discovery and which, in the meantime, has returned to the ash tree.
The lunette on the right, on the other hand, shows a procession of devotees towards the shrine where the simulacrum is contained and raised immediately after her discovery.
The interior
The simple marble portal with architrave has quadrangular capitals inspired by fifteenth-century models. A single nave precedes the presbytery space while the parts into which the room is divided are covered by barrel vaults cut by a series of nails to allow light to enter from the outside.
You can also see the Statuette of the Apparition: in terracotta, about 14 cm high, depicting the Virgin wrapped in a long robe that descends to cover her feet. The Madonna, who wears a Queen's crown on her head, holds the Child to her breast with her right hand while with her left she picks up her mantle in front of her.
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