The church of San Lorenzo, inside which is the chapel of the Incoronata, was built around 1120. The current architectural structure of the facade, with three rose windows and a monumental portal, dates back to a renovation in 1540, and the bell tower is a tower. The interior has three naves, with the central one being apse-ended. Along the right wall, three chapels open; the first of these is the Incoronata chapel, where the wooden statue of the Madonna is preserved. According to tradition, it was donated by Saint Bernardino da Siena in 1438 and is now the object of worship in the sanctuary. The chapel was built in 1587, but the current arrangement, designed by architect Cesare Bazzani, dates back to 1931. Following are the chapel of the Sacrament, built based on a design by Filippo Neri da Foligno in 1789, and the chapel dedicated to the Trinity (formerly of Saint Lucia), located behind the altar of Saint Catherine of Alexandria (cf. V. Peppoloni, C. Fratini, Guide to Spello, Assisi 1978, pp. 67-72). Description: Wooden sculpture of the Madonna Incoronata with child, traditionally believed to have been donated by Saint Bernardino da Siena. Entered into use: in the year 1438 Image: Statue
Original location of the Sanctuary: In the Chapel Notes on the collection: The ex-votos date from the 18th century onwards Typology of ex-votos: Jewelry objects, Anthropomorphic figurines, Real or represented prostheses
An unpublished booklet, written in June 1583, preserved in the Archbishop’s Archive of Spoleto, tells of some miraculous healings performed by the sacred image
The chapel, dedicated to the Madonna, is located inside the parish church of San Lorenzo, built in the 12th century and the seat of a collegiate church, headed by a prior. Marian worship began at the end of the 15th century and developed in the following centuries, but the church of San Lorenzo, at the beginning of the 13th century, although it did not have a specific object of worship, was already a destination for pilgrims who came there to earn the indulgence granted by Gregory IX on May 24 or 25, 1228, the day the church was reconsecrated by him. The indulgence was earned annually on Easter Monday. The attribute of sanctuary was initially linked to the main altar consecrated by Gregory IX, but later this characteristic was inherited by a wooden statue of the Madonna, which tradition, unsupported by historical sources, claims was donated by Saint Bernardino da Siena to the city of Spello and the church of San Lorenzo in 1438. The cult of the Madonna statue saw a significant increase at the end of the 16th century. An unpublished booklet, written in June 1583, preserved in the Archbishop’s Archive of Spoleto, tells of some miraculous healings performed by this image. Following these miracles, the statue, which had been left for about ten years in a corner of the church, was moved to a more worthy site: the first chapel on the right, previously dedicated to Saint Lucia. In 1587, with the alms given by pilgrims who had received many graces, work began to build the chapel dedicated to the Madonna; the same year, the Confraternity of the Conception was founded to take care of the custody and worship of the simulacrum. On April 23, 1630, Easter Tuesday, by indult of Urban VIII, the statue was solemnly crowned; the following year, the feast of the Incoronata was established, celebrated every Easter Tuesday, and the same pope granted the confreres of the Conception Incoronata a series of indulgences, including the plenary indulgence and the remission of sins: on the day of their first entry into the fraternity; at the point of death, if truly repentant and confessed and possibly restored by the viaticum, they invoke the name of Jesus; and annually after the third feast following Easter – from vespers to sunset on the same Easter Tuesday – provided that they confess and receive communion and visit the church of San Lorenzo (cf. M. Sensi, Pilgrims to Spello for the Pardon and the Incoronata, Foligno 1988, pp. 7-37). When the feast of the Incoronata began to be celebrated, the annual pilgrimage to the church of San Lorenzo, carried out on May 25, had not been completely canceled, and the celebration of the Incoronata revived it: however, it was moved to Easter Tuesday; another annual pilgrimage is the one made for the Immaculate Conception, and thanks to its therapeutic virtues, this sanctuary is daily the destination of small individual pilgrimages (cf. M. Sensi, Great Jubilee of 2000, Foligno 1999, p. 39).
According to tradition, Saint Bernardino da Siena, while in Spello in 1438, left an image of the Madonna to the church of San Lorenzo, which, in 1580, on May 17, spoke to Camilla di Urbano Cecchi, asking to be removed from the place where it had been placed. As soon as the request was fulfilled, miracles began, followed by a huge gathering of people, and in 1587, with the money from alms, work began on the construction of the chapel. (Publication: Sensi Mario, Pilgrims to Spello for the Pardon and the Incoronata, Foligno 1988, pp. 35-36).
On April 23, 1630, Easter Tuesday, by concession of Urban VIII, the statue was solemnly crowned.
From its origins, the church of San Lorenzo was granted numerous indulgences: the first known is the one granted by Gregory IX on May 25, 1228, to those who visited the church on the anniversary of the consecration of its altar; on May 22, 1291, the diocesan bishop granted a series of indulgences of 100 days each to those who participated in the traditional processions of May 1 and the octave of Pentecost, to those who visited the church for the feast of San Lorenzo, May 25, and the two following days. Following the construction of the feast of the Incoronata, Pope Urban VIII in 1631 granted the confreres of the Conception Incoronata a series of indulgences, including the plenary indulgence and the remission of sins: on the day of their first entry into the fraternity; at the point of death, if truly repentant and confessed and possibly restored by the viaticum, they invoke the name of Jesus; and annually after the third feast following Easter – from vespers to sunset on the same Easter Tuesday – provided that they confess and receive communion and visit the church of San Lorenzo; he granted an indulgence of seven years and as many Lents to the confreres who, under the same conditions, visited the church of San Lorenzo on the feasts of the Conception, Purification, Annunciation, and Assumption of Mary; finally, he indulged with forty days certain works of mercy and piety listed separately (cf. M. Sensi, Pilgrims to Spello for the Pardon and the Incoronata, Foligno 1988, pp. 7-37).

06038 Spello PG, Italy