Sanctuary of Montevergine is a Marian church in Mercogliano, located in the hamlet of Montevergine. It's a part of the Territorial Abbey of Montevergine, one of the six Italian territorial abbeys. Inside, the painting of the Madonna di Montevergine is venerated and it is estimated that about one and a half million pilgrims visit it every year.
History
The history of the sanctuary of Montevergine is closely linked to the figure of William of Montevergine, a hermit monk who lived between the 11th and 12th centuries, who took pilgrimages to places of Christianity. Returning to Italy after a long journey to Santiago de Compostela, he decided to undertake a new pilgrimage to Jerusalem and to prepare himself spiritually he took refuge at Mount Serico, in Atella, where he is the protagonist of the healing of a blind man. Resuming the journey towards the holy land, he arrives in Ginosa, meeting with John of Matera, who advises him to give up the pilgrimage and to work for the divine service in the lands of the West: William refuses the advice of the saint and continues with his walk until he is beaten up by a group of brigands. Remembering John's words and after a long spiritual reflection, he understands the new path to follow, that is to retire in solitude and devote himself to meditation. Arriving in Irpinia, he feels that God's will is to make him reside on a mountain, known today as Partenio, at an altitude of over a thousand meters.
Over time, William's reputation for holiness increased more and more, so much so that men eager to embrace a lifestyle dedicated to prayer and solitude began to arrive spontaneously on the mountain. In a short time numerous cells, mostly made with mud and mortar, housed numerous monks. At the same time it was also decided to build a church, consecrated in 1126, dedicated to the Madonna, but, contrary to what is often told, no apparitions occurred: William only followed his deep devotion to the Virgin Mary. Soon the monks of Montevergine gathered in a congregation called Verginiana, officially recognized on 8 August 1879 by Pope Leo XIII: over the centuries the congregation has carried out both evangelization service, even using the local dialect to reach the lowest classes of society, and care for the sick, with the construction of numerous hospitals in Campania and in the rest of southern Italy. After the death of St. William in 1142, the sanctuary reached its heyday between the 12th and 14th centuries, when it was enriched with numerous works of art and expanded considerably thanks to the offerings of feudal lords, popes and kings: it was in this period that the painting of the Madonna was donated, now venerated in the cathedral basilica, but also numerous relics, including the bones of San Gennaro, which were then transferred to the cathedral of Naples in 1497.
Between 1378 and 1588 the sanctuary of Montevergine experienced a profound crisis both from a spiritual and economic point of view, accentuated by a commendation of 1430, which assigned the offerings made for the abbey to men without any Christian interest. From 1588 until the beginning of the 19th century, monastic life was fairly peaceful, although in 1611 the guesthouse was seriously damaged by a fire and in 1629 the central nave of the church collapsed; from 1807, the year in which the body of William of Montevergine was moved from the abbey of Goleto to Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi in Montevergine, to 1861 a new period of crisis seriously endangered the life of the congregation itself: on 28 May 1868 the council of state decreed that the abbeys should not be subject to any type of economic suppression and therefore all the assets confiscated in the previous years were returned again; in the same year the sanctuary was declared a national monument, while in 1884 the meteorological station of Montevergine was inaugurated
At the beginning of the twentieth century the situation improved considerably and the sanctuary enjoyed the ancient fame, becoming one of the most visited in Southern Italy; During the Second World War, precisely from 1939 to 1946, it secretly hosted the Shroud of Turin, not only to protect it from the bombings but also to hide it in the event that Adolf Hitler would want to take possession of it. On 8 April 1944, the Sanctuary received the visit of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy who resided in Ravello, who came to thank the sanctuary for the custody of the Shroud and other treasures owned by the House of Savoy.
Remarkable changes made in this period include the renovation of the Forestry, the Monastery and the ancient basilica, the opening in 1956 of the funicular that connects the center of Mercogliano to the sanctuary in just 7 minutes, the inauguration of the new basilica, designed by Florestano Di Fausto, in 1961, on whose main altar the picture of the Madonna was placed. By architectural criteria, it is a pseudobasilica. Also in the 1960s, the crypt, which contains the remains of San Guglielmo, the Ex-voto room and a museum, were reorganized according to modern standards only in 2000, which collects the numerous archaeological finds or jewels and works of art brought by pilgrims, dates back. or found around the sanctuary; In fact, a temple stood in the Roman era in the Roman area dedicated to Cybele. In addition to the complex that stands on Mount Partenio, the Abbatial Palace of Loreto also belongs to the Sanctuary, located in the center of Mercogliano. Inside there is a pharmacy dating back to 1753 and a library. On 25 June 2012, after an accurate restoration, the painting of the Madonna was again placed inside the ancient basilica, in the chapel dedicated to the Crucifix.
Structure Cathedral basilica
The construction works of the cathedral basilica began in 1952, ending in 1961 with the solemn consecration on Ascension Day: the basilica is the work of the architect Florestano Di Fausto. The facade, divided into three compartments where the same number of entrances open, is covered in white stone and in the center there is a rose window decorated with polychrome glass depicting the coronation of the Virgin.
Inside there are no particular notable elements, it has a neo-Romanesque style and is made up of three naves, one central and two lateral ones divided by five arches on both sides: at the bottom of the two lateral naves there are two matronea which host the organ. The main altar is enclosed by a wooden choir made of walnut and olive briar, while at the back there is a marble throne where the painting of the Madonna di Montevergine was placed, later replaced by a crucifix without nails: the frame that previously housed the painting it is surrounded by two marble angels who seem to support it; the altar is completed with polychrome marble, bronze bas-reliefs and a mosaic, the work of Hainal.
The ceiling is coffered with pure gold coffering, while the flooring is semi-polished granite. The windows of the dome are adorned with stained glass windows representing Angels created by Amalia Panigati, who was also responsible for the crosses in the matronea symbolizing the Evangelists.A. Polidoro, Di Fausto architetto e politico, in “Corriere (dell'Irpinia)”, a. XI, n. 57, 27 febbraio 2011, p. 26. From the left nave there is access to a sort of side chapel called the Penitentiary, while at the bottom of the right nave there is access to the old basilica via a Gothic style portal, dating back to the 13th century, whose tympanum is decorated with the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and Holy Mary during the first Christian Pentecost.
Near the new basilica there is the bell tower, inaugurated in 1925, although part of the facade had already been completed in 1901: approximately 80 meters high and covered in white and gray granite, the lower part is in Ionic style with three arches decorated with columns, while the upper part, where the papal loggia is also located, protected by a marble parapet, is in Corinthian style; internally it is divided into five floors and on the external walls there are some decorations such as trumpeter angels and a marble depiction of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, six meters high.
Matronea host a pipe organ, Mascioni opus 1042, constructed in 1981. The instrument, with electric transmission, has three keyboards of 61 notes each and a concave-radial pedal board of 32 notes.
The old basilica
Nothing remains of the ancient basilica, dating back to 1126, built first in Romanesque style, and remodeled in Gothic style: it collapsed in 1629, and was rebuilt in 1645 based on a design by the architect Giacomo Conforti. The entrance to the church starts with a large corner staircase which leads directly into the courtyard of the monastery and is surmounted by an iron portal, the work of the De Lamorte foundry of Naples, realized in 1885, in Gothic style: past the entrance one enters a covered atrium, and then enters directly into the templeThe church has a single nave, paved in marble and is delimited on each side by three large arches, a sign of the past side aisles, now closed; in the ancient basilica there are six marble plaques which respectively recall the history of the sanctuary, thanks to Leo XIII, the visits of Umberto I, the pilgrimage of Vittorio Emanuele III on 28 August 1936, the restoration of the diocese of Montevergine and to Francesco I.
The main altar is adorned with tarsi of the Neapolitan school, which include "typical elements of Arab art": in the central part there is the marble statue of the Madonna delle Grazie, while on its sides the statues, also in marble, of Saint William and Saint Benedict; another noteworthy craftsmanship are the angel-like candelabras, dating back to 1888 and made to replace the original wooden ones. Behind the altar is the walnut wood choir, created by Benvenuto Tortelli in 1573 and characterized by small columns, putti inlaid on the armrests and the Angel with the aspergillum under the central kneeler; The church is closed by an organ by Vincenzo Benvenuti built in 1896.
On the right side there is a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament, inside which there is a canopy dating back to the 13th century, in Romanesque style, with Cosmatesque inlays, a gift from Mary of Hungary or her son Charles Martel: four marble lions support the four columns decorated with an alternation of white and red which symbolically depict the four tributaries of the Danube; on the architrave, in addition to two statues holding the thurible and the aspergillum, eight other small columns support the dome. Under the canopy, the case decorated with angels supporting the ciborium, the work of Luigi III De Capua and dating back to the end of the 15th century. Inside the chapel there is also a pipe organ, built at the end of the 19th century by Zeno Fedeli; with mixed transmission, mechanical for the manuals and the pedal, pneumatic-tubular for the registers, it has a single 56-note keyboard and a straight 27-note pedal board without its own registers.