santuario, diocesano, Santuario Diocesano Santa Maria della Nova

On a hillside four kilometres from Rocca Imperiale, the Santuario Diocesano Santa Maria della Nova stands as a destination for pilgrims from two dioceses. This Renaissance church, dedicated to the Virgin, was elevated to a diocesan sanctuary in 2010, formalising a role it had long held. Such hilltop sanctuaries were common in Italy during this period, built as both spiritual refuges and visible landmarks of faith.

The annual cycle of devotion is measured in processions and novenas. From late June, prayers and litanies are sung in the town’s parish church; on the first of July, the Madonna’s effigy is carried through the streets. The following morning, pilgrims walk with the icon back to the sanctuary, a journey that blends landscape and liturgy. A separate summer festival honours emigrants, acknowledging those who have left but remain connected to this place. The sanctuary is not merely a building on a hill, but a fixed point to which devotion returns, year after year.

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