santuario, diocesano, Santa Maria del Monte Serra

On the summit of Monte Serra, six hundred metres above the Tyrrhenian, stands the diocesan sanctuary of Santa Maria del Monte Serra. This single-nave church, with its single entrance, was built in the 1800s by a local man who believed himself healed through the Virgin’s intercession, and dedicated to her as the Madonna della Neve. It was later enlarged by the faithful to accommodate the growing numbers of pilgrims.

The sanctuary remains a destination for foot pilgrims, who observe two annual traditions. At the close of May, the statue of the Pilgrim Madonna is carried down to the parish church of San Benedetto, processed through the neighbouring districts, and then returned to the sanctuary with songs, prayers and rosary meditations. On 2 August, the feast of Santa Maria degli Angeli, a night-time torch-lit pilgrimage sets out from the church of Santa Lucia, pausing for penitential liturgy and prayer along the way. Baroque in period but simple in form, this is a church shaped by local devotion and mountain geography.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.