The Madonna del Latte Church is located in the suburb of the same name in Lenola. It was built on the site where a pagan temple founded by Greek refugees is supposed to have stood.
Church of the Madonna del Latte Lenola
History and description
The Madonna del Latte Church is said to have been built on the ruins of a pagan temple dedicated to the God Apollo. According to the Roman magistrate, it was founded by refugees from Greek Amicle.
This temple had been destroyed in the year 587 by the Bishop of Fondi, Andrea, and replaced by a niche in which an effigy of the Madonna was placed.
The niche was in turn replaced by a church called the Madonna del Latte (“Madonna of the Milk”) because it featured an effigy of a breastfeeding Madonna.
According to tradition, women who struggled to give their babies milk came to this church to ask the Virgin for help. They then had a large stone on their heads as a sign of humility and scratched the fresco with their nails.
The small church was run by a hermit from its early days. The last of these hermits died in 1944.
The church is located in the borough of the same name, about 2 kilometers from the center of Lenola.
