Sanctuary Santa Maria Apparve

The Sanctuary of Santa Maria Apparve was erected in 1527, on the site where a simple shrine dedicated to Mary previously stood. The inscription, walled up on the facade of the church and written in Latin, recalls that “In the year 1527, the Virgin Mary, from her image, promised a shepherd boy that she herself would help the Montalboddesi from the plague if, in place of the ancient aedicule, a church were erected in honor of her image”.

The church was built and inaugurated in 1529. For the miracles and numerous graces granted through the intercession of the Madonna, including above all the removal and overcoming of the scourge of the plague and the liberation from the dangers of earthquakes, a large number of faithful flocked to the church of Santa Maria Apparve. The Latin inscription, which adorns the painting on the apse of the church, from which the image of Mary, with the Child Jesus in her lap, turns benevolently and blessingly towards the faithful, attests to the Madonna’s helping work: “In peste sanitas, in terremotu securitas”. In 1855, a terrible cholera epidemic raged throughout Italy: the Montalboddesi, the people and the authorities, in the renewed danger of an epidemic, remembered the promises made by the Madonna to the shepherd boy and, once again confident in their patronage, on August 12th promised a new and larger temple, for which the Montalboddo City Council approved the investment of 400 scudi. On September 12, cholera ceased to rage and the citizens of Montalboddo went in a procession of thanksgiving towards the rustic church of Sana Maria Apparve. In 1857 work began on the new church, which was solemnly opened to the public on July 2, 1860. In December 1884, however, it became impossible to replace the chaplain and the church had to remain closed for some time and without daily and festive celebrations, much to the disappointment of the faithful. We turned to the Order of Franciscan Friars Minor, who, after the suppression of religious corporations and the confiscation of their assets following the unification of Italy, following the loss of the convent of Santa Maria del Popolo, had no longer been able to find new accommodation in the city. The Order accepted: the convent was built next to the church, and the church itself, with a single nave, was enriched with four chapels, adorned with paintings and equipped with an apse. On August 15, 1915, by decree of the Vatican Chapter, the venerated image of Santa Maria Apparve was solemnly crowned with the golden crown.