A small Franciscan church, built in the 14th century at the behest of the Poor Clares of the Monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli. The complex includes the Franciscan church and the adjacent Monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli. Between August and November 1850, the religious building was transformed into a neoclassical-style temple. Currently, the complex houses the residence of the Fathers of the Most Precious Blood and the former orphanage, which now hosts the Manara Valgimigli State Teachers’ College.
**Description**: A painting depicting the Virgin Mary in half-bust, with hands clasped to her chest and eyes turned toward heaven, executed around 1796 by the Rimini painter Giuseppe Soleri Brancaleoni, commissioned by his sister Sister Chiara of the Monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli. Devotion to this image began in 1850 when, on May 11, three devotees—Anna Bugli, Anna Achilli, and Francesca Megani—noticed movement in the Madonna’s eyes.
**Date of Use**: 1850
**Image**: Painting
**Collection Notes**: The collection consists of 36 pieces in total. The votive paintings are arranged in a continuous frame system, divided into two groups, all protected by two large display cases.
**Type of Ex-Votos**: Painted tablets
In the devotional complex’s library, there is a collection of written testimonies regarding some graces granted by the Madonna della Misericordia.
Originally, it was a small Franciscan church, a subsidiary of the parish of Sant’Agnese, built around the 14th century by Poor Clare nuns who resided in the adjacent Monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli. The special devotion to this place began in 1850 when, on May 11, the three devotees noticed movement in the Madonna’s eyes. Soon, a large crowd of faithful gathered, and the image was also seen changing the color of its face and shedding tears. This phenomenon repeated several times, drawing significant crowds from various parts of Italy and abroad. The miracle is commemorated on the 12th of each month, as the day after the wondrous event saw a great gathering of faithful in the church.
The sanctuary is known throughout the peninsula thanks to the monthly periodical *Madonna della Misericordia*, now in its 54th year, and numerous oral testimonies of intercessions granted to faithful from all over Italy. Many also reach out to the Fathers of the Most Precious Blood by phone to receive spiritual comfort and the support of their prayers in times of difficulty.
The devotion to this image began in 1850 when, on May 11, the three devotees noticed movement in the Madonna’s eyes. Soon, a large crowd gathered, and the image was seen changing its facial color and weeping. This event repeated multiple times, drawing people from across Italy and abroad. The miracle is commemorated on the 12th of each month, as the day after the event saw a great gathering in the church. The foundation legend can be inferred from the publications listed in the bibliography.
**BIBLIOGRAPHY**
– In addition to texts specifically dedicated to this place of worship, reference is made to some significant repertoires that include sections on the sanctuary.
– **ARTICLE IN MISCELLANY**: Pezzoli Stefano, *”General Repertoire of Sanctuaries in Emilia Romagna,”* in *Art and Sanctuaries in Emilia Romagna* (1987), pp. 179–239. (For the Diocese of Rimini, the following sanctuaries are described: Madonna della Misericordia in Santa Chiara.)
– **BOOK**: Meldini, Piero; Milantoni, Gabriello; Sistri, Alessandro; Terenzi, Piergiorgio; Turchini, Angelo, *Figura Culto Cultura. The Votive Paintings of the Diocese of Rimini*, Ravenna 1981. (A catalog of an exhibition, structured in three parts: artistic-iconographic; religious and devotional; anthropological and ethnographic. It reviews the votive paintings of the Diocese of Rimini. The following sanctuaries are described: Madonna della Misericordia in Santa Chiara.)
– **BOOK**: Pasini, Pier Giorgio (ed.), *Sacred Places of Rimini. Jubilee Itineraries*, Rimini. (A guide to the most important sacred sites in Rimini. The following sanctuaries are described: Madonna della Misericordia in Santa Chiara.)
– **BOOK**: Turchini, Angelo; Masetti Zannini, Gian Ludovico, *History of Rimini from 1800 to the Present*, Rimini 1978. (The volume covers religion and popular religiosity in Rimini from 1800 to the 1970s. The following sanctuaries are described: Madonna della Misericordia in Santa Chiara.)
Originally, it was a small Franciscan church, a subsidiary of the parish of Sant’Agnese, built around the 14th century by Poor Clare nuns who resided in the adjacent Monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli. They remained there until the Napoleonic suppression (May 15, 1810). The church was then entrusted to Don Antonio Sampaoli. When he became parish priest of Bordonchio, it passed to Don Giuseppe Rossi until June 1824, when Giovanni Marchetti, Apostolic Administrator of Rimini, gave it to the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood, priests of apostolic life.
In June 1824, Giovanni Marchetti, Apostolic Administrator of Rimini, entrusted the sanctuary to the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood, priests of apostolic life.
The spiritual care of the small Franciscan church, a subsidiary of the parish of Sant’Agnese built around the 14th century by Poor Clare nuns who resided in the adjacent Monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli, was entrusted to the parish of Sant’Agnese until June 1824, when Giovanni Marchetti, Apostolic Administrator of Rimini, gave the sanctuary to the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood, priests of apostolic life.
Vicolo Santa Chiara, 28, 47921 Rimini RN, Italy
