Sanctuary of the Madonna del Pilastrello, Lendinara

Miracles said to surround the foundation

In 1509 on the night of 8 to 9 May, a man by the name of Matteo Brandolese was traveling on the road from Cavazzana, despite a violent storm sweeping through the area. Nearing the village of Roverese, he was enraptured by a glow coming from the statue of a Madonna, which had been torn by the storm from a niche on the facade of the house.

The statue was brought by gusts of wind over a hedge, where it remained for days, and due to its resplendence, became a destination for curious and faithful. Lawyer Lorenzo Malmignati, hearing of this fact, decided to build a small chapel for the statuette.

In 1570 Ludovico Borezzo, descendant of owner of the house where the statue originally rested, decided to restore the now dilapidated chapel of the Madonna. To mix the lime, water was drawn from nearby spring, but to his amazement, the water was tinted red like blood. This created another popular commotion and generated talk of a miracle.

Erection of Sanctuary

In 1577, the city council took property of the sanctuary "to care and patronage of the place." Erection of the sanctuary was completed by 1579, and in 1595 it was officially consecrated to Our Lady of Pilastrello. The church was entrusted to Benedictine order monks of Abbey of Monte Oliveto, who resided here till suppression of the order in 1771. The original monastery was a simple two-story building connected to the temple through a room located above the choir, where the cloistered monks who were ill, could still follow the services. The ground floor was a dining hall, a kitchen; the 2nd floor had cells for the monks. A second building similar to the first and connected to it by a cloister. In 1905, the commune returned to the sanctuary to the Olivetani.

The church underwent a radical restoration carried out between the end of the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century. The facade with two rows punctuated by pilasters was partially modified in 1933. The ceiling and apse frescoes were completed by Giuseppe Chiacigh between 1939 - 1942. They highlight the history of the Sanctuary and the bond between the Madonna del Pilastrello the city. Narrated in sotto in su:

The Sacred statue receiving miraculous power of the Virgin in glory in the ceiling of the nave;

The Protection of the City from the Flood of 1822 on the counterfacade.

The Miracle of the protection of Lendinara during the floods of the Adige on the left nave.

The Protection of the city during the Plague of 1030 and the protection of the animals from the plague in 1748 in the right nave.

Chiacigh also painted the Coronation of Mary of Benedetto e Francesco Romana, and of the Blessed Bernardo Tolomei; a Birth of the Virgin and the Four Prophets in the apse. He also painted the angels in the lateral aisles and the Cardinal Virtues painted in monochrome in the Chapel of San Antonio.

In the first altar on the left, is a canvas depicting St Francis visited by an angel (circa 1750) by G. Angeli, a pupil of Piazzetta.

The second altar has an Ascent of Christ before Apostles and Donor (circa 1580), by the studio of Paolo Veronese. in the third altar on the left, the Baptism of Christ Montemezzano, pupil of Paolo Veronese. …