The ancient convent of nuns was eventually abandoned, and around 1630, the current church was built. Description: The object of devotion is the pit inside the church where the nun is said to have slept, prayed, and performed acts of penance during the early period of her life. The site of the sanctuary itself is also an object of worship. In the ditch, a good distance from the church, there is a large stone with three small cup-shaped holes, said to have been made by the saint to collect water. The attention of the faithful was so focused on the pit inside the church and its associated pagan-like religious practices that the ecclesiastical authorities were compelled to install a gate in 1636 to prevent uncontrolled access to the church. In use since: the year 1230. Location: Grotto, Other. Original location of the Sanctuary: In the woods of Montelovesco near the Mussino River. Types of ex-votos: Tablets or plaques with inscriptions, Painted tablets, Jewelry, Anthropomorphic figurines, Various objects, Photographs, Other. Current preservation: They are kept inside the church, hung on a gate at the beginning of the nave; periodically removed by the priest because they are too numerous.

The site is dedicated to St. Cecilia, a hermit who lived in the early 13th century and led a life of contemplation in a cave still existing near the building, where tradition holds that the trace of the saint’s body remains from her rest. This religious figure never underwent a canonization process, and her fervently popular cult led the official Church to accept her devotion. Angelini, a 17th-century historian, calls her the sister of Blessed Sperandeo, who lived in the monastery of Camporeggiano. Thus, she likely came from a good family in the Camporeggiano area; perhaps due to the lack of a female monastery, she decided to retreat to a nearby cave to live as a hermit. It is thought that her example inspired other young women to follow her, and the place became a fervent center of female spirituality. Reading the memories contained in the episcopal archives, it is easy to see how it was always emphasized that Cecilia has the title of blessed and hermit, but never saint. The particular confusion that evidently arose among the masses is highlighted by the fact that when a painting was commissioned in modern times to be displayed in the church, the painter depicted the figure of St. Cecilia, the Roman martyr and patroness of music. Numerous letters from the bishops urged the removal of the martyr’s palm and musical instruments from the painting, which caused further confusion among the faithful, until the too-worn painting was removed from the church. In 1234, Bishop Villano, noting the numerous presence of religious women retreating to those remote places, worked to have a female monastery, S. Angelo di Cuti, erected nearby to serve as a night hermitage. In 1257, a decree by Pope Alexander IV ordered the abolition of female convents located outside the city walls for safety reasons, so the nuns of S. Angelo were transferred to the Convent of Paradise. After the death of the blessed, her body was placed inside the church, then transferred to the monastery of Paradise, and later, together with that of Blessed Agatella, moved to the convent of S. Benedetto. From there, in 1482, Abbess Francesca requested and obtained from the Duke of Urbino, with the consent of Pope Sixtus IV, the transfer to the monastery of S. Spirito. The church is believed to have been built a few years before the adjacent monastery but underwent numerous renovations, including substantial ones, as shown by the Olivetan coat of arms on the facade, indicating a reconstruction of the building in the 1500s, when the church was entrusted to them after they were called in 1419 to live in the Abbey of Camporeggiano. The sanctuary cult in this place still exists. The church has never officially recognized the cult of the nun but has accepted her devotion. Pope Alexander IV ordered the closure of female monasteries located outside the city walls. The nuns of S. Angelo di Cuti, who guarded this sanctuary, moved to the monastery of Paradise, taking the body of the blessed with them. It was Pope Leo X who made the change in spiritual care. Previously, spiritual care had been entrusted in 1732 by Pope Leo X to the nuns of Santa Chiara.

Location Camporeggiano, 06024 Camporeggiano PG, Italy