The Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grotte in Antrodoco was built at the site where a young shepherdess in the early 17th century had found a sacred effigy of the Madonna and Child.
Madonna delle Grotte Sanctuary in Antrodoco
Useful information
Address: Strada Statale 17, 6 – 02013 Antrodoco.
History and description
The Santuario della Madonna delle Grotte (“Our Lady of the Caves”) is huilt along a gorge off the road to L’Aquila.
It was built between 1603 and 1604, after the 9 year old Berardina Boccacci, some years earlier had found the sacred image of the Madonna and Child.
Cesare Segni, bishop of Rieti at the time, ordered a small altar to be built at the site. Soon the chapel became popular amongst the faithful, and money was collected to construct a church.
The architect of this church was Ruggero Fausto from Montepulciano. It took only one year to complete the construction.
In 1799, there was a peasant uprising against the Bourbon Kingdom then ruling the area. The French soldiers killed during the rebellion are buried in the crypt of the church.