Chapel built around a pillar, with an image of the Virgin affixed, along the Stirone stream.
Description: Fresco by an unknown 16th-century artist, of modest artistic quality.
In use since: 1599
Image: Painting
Collection of ex-votos: Data not available

The devotion to an image of the Madonna and Child, originally placed on a pillar along the Stirone stream, was officially recognized in 1599. Shortly afterward, to accommodate the many faithful, a chapel was built, which later became the Church of the Madonna dello Stirone. In 1722, the growing civic importance of devotion to the image, believed to be miraculous, along with longstanding accusations of mismanagement by the bishop, led to the decision to move the effigy from the Church of the Madonna dello Stirone (later suppressed) to the newly built Jesuit church. This latter temple was elevated to a sanctuary in 1957.

(The following information is taken from ASPr, fondo Culto, busta 77)
On August 9, 1599, the foundation stone of the Oratory of the Blessed Virgin of Stirone was laid, commissioned by the community and Duke Ranuccio Farnese to properly house an image of the Virgin painted on a pillar along the Via Claudia near the Stirone bridge, believed to be miraculous. Private citizens and the duke himself funded the project with substantial donations. The original design was by Maurizio Bacchini, confirmed by the ducal architect Bresciani. On January 1, 1600, the first Mass could be celebrated under a temporarily erected portico; in 1601 and 1602, the continuation of construction is documented, with the vaults frescoed by Baglioni in 1610.

The management of donations, mostly used to purchase income-generating assets, was entrusted to four syndics assisted by a treasurer: these were proposed by the community and confirmed by ecclesiastical authorities (typically, two laymen and two clerics were appointed, who in turn appointed the chaplain to officiate the oratory). Authority over the oratory, exercised through the appointment of regents, was the subject of repeated disputes between the community, supported by the duke, and the bishop, culminating in 1654 with a ruling—never enforced—by Bishop Casoni, who claimed all rights over the oratory’s management.

On December 5, 1616, Duke Ranuccio I Farnese founded the Pious Work of the Blessed Virgin of Stirone, endowing it with 18,000 scudi. However, the duke’s successors did not honor this arrangement. Although the oratory was regularly officiated by a chaplain, especially on occasions related to the ducal family, by the early 1660s, the bishop—who had long been in conflict with the community over the oratory’s governance—denounced its neglect and poverty.

In 1691, the first signs of negotiations with the Society of Jesus emerged for them to take over the assets and obligations of the pious work, concluding with the agreement of January 3, 1696, notarized by chamber notary Ranuccio Pisani. The agreement was beneficial both for the Jesuits, who secured their presence in the city, and for Duke Ranuccio II, who entrusted the religious order with fulfilling the obligations set by his ancestor. The agreement also designated a plot of land ceded by the Ducal Chamber near the Salso road as the site for the new church of the Blessed Virgin, as the original oratory site was threatened by the Stirone’s waters.

Father Bramieri, the first rector and overseer of the construction, secured a further land exchange near San Michele, where the Temple of the Great Mother of God was inaugurated in 1722. After the sacred image was transferred to the new Jesuit church that year, the oratory lost its original name and was dedicated to St. Joseph. These historical events were reflected in the structure of the institution’s archives, forming parallel archives in Fidenza and Parma.

Starting in the 1660s, the bishop of Fidenza denounced the oratory’s neglect and poverty and, in 1691, began negotiations with the Society of Jesus to take over the assets and obligations of the pious work. In 1722, the sanctuary was relocated (see entry on the Sanctuary of the Great Mother of God).

62022 Gagliole MC, Italy