Santa Maria delle Grazie Sanctuary in Fornò

The Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie, with its imposing oriental-style structure with a circular plan and octagonal dome, has a unique charm, both because of its evocative location and because of the atmosphere of sacredness it radiates. Although it lost its bell tower due to the war, it still retains its splendour. The atrium in front of the main entrance, with trusses decorated with frescoes by the Lateran canon Pietro da Bagnara, welcomes visitors with solemnity. On the pediment stands the Gothic marble statue of the Madonna, an element of deep devotion. Inside, under the majestic dome, is the circular aedicule with a Renaissance terracotta frieze dating from 1853, depicting apostles, doctors and saints. Among the works of art, the Portrait of Julius II; and the tomb of Pietro Bianco (1479) testify to the rich history of the place. The shrine houses a copy of the Family of the Madonna; by Perugino, while the central altar is dominated by the icon of the Madonna Theotokos, to whom Pietro Bianco dedicated the construction of the shrine. On the wall behind it is the Renaissance marble relief of the Trinity, attributed to Antonio Rossellino or Agostino di Duccio. Once, the 15th-century fresco of the Nativity by Marco Palmezzano, now preserved in the Pinacoteca, stood here. Begun in 1450 at the behest of Pietro Bianco da Durazzo, the shrine was later entrusted to the Lateran canons and restored between 1853 and 1857, under the impulse of Giacomo Santarelli and the patronage of Pius IX, after having been suppressed during the Napoleonic period and having undergone a period of neglect and decline.