The sanctuary consists of two autonomous churches: the crypt and the sanctuary proper.
The crypt is circular in shape, with an outer diameter of 80 meters, and can be accessed through 18 different entrances. In addition to the main altar, which features a painting of the Madonna delle Lacrime (an ex-voto) as its backdrop, there are nine side chapels. The sanctuary itself has a single nave with an annular structure, measuring 79.40 meters in diameter. A second elevated structure of smaller diameter houses the so-called “suspended chapels” (19 in total). At the pinnacle of this imposing structure stands a stele with a radiating crown, inside which, atop the sanctuary, is placed a gilded bronze statue of the Madonna delle Lacrime, coated in pure gold leaf, standing 2.75 meters tall.
The sanctuary complex also includes the Oratory of Via degli Orti, the Museum of Ex-Votos, numerous offices for welcoming pilgrims, and outdoor spaces featuring the Mysteries of the Rosary, sculpted by G. Caruso.
**Description:** The small plaster painting, central to the miraculous event of 1953, depicts the Immaculate Heart of Mary and is now preserved in a silver case on the back wall behind the sanctuary’s altar. The reliquary, which holds the tears and other relics, is a rather intricate object made of gold and precious stones, designed by B. Poidomani and crafted by the Taviani workshop in Rome. It rests on an octagonal base and, above the handle, features three stacked cubes. The first cube contains a fragment of the handkerchief used to wipe the tears, some cotton swabs, and the vial that held the liquid. At the corners are statuettes of St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Marcian (the legendary first bishop of Syracuse), and St. Lucy, the city’s patron saint. The second cube is adorned with four commemorative scenes of the miracle. The third cube, guarded by four angels, holds a glass urn containing a small blue vial with crystallized tears.
**Entry into use:** In the year 1953
**Image:** Painting
**Relic:** Tears
**Types of ex-votos:** Jewelry, real or depicted prosthetics, various objects
**Current preservation:** Museum of Ex-Votos within the religious complex. The museum displays over a thousand silver hearts and other silver ex-votos, as well as crutches, busts, wedding dresses, and paintings. Of particular interest are two 17th-century stone statues of Mary and Joseph, donated by Father Mirabella, parish priest of Ferla in the Diocese of Syracuse.
On August 29, 1953, the miraculous event that gave rise to the sanctuary occurred—the weeping of a small plaster painting depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The phenomenon took place in the private home of the Iavarone-Giusto spouses on Via degli Orti di San Giorgio, a house now converted into an oratory and integrated into the sanctuary’s religious complex. The miraculous event continued over the next three days and received widespread coverage in the international press. In September 1953, the Ecclesiastical Tribunal began the canonical historical process, questioning 189 eyewitnesses, ultimately concluding that the weeping was of a miraculous nature.
The first core of the sanctuary was built in the 1960s by the Guffanti company of Milan—this is the current crypt, consecrated in August 1968 by the Archbishop of Syracuse. Construction of the elevated sanctuary proper began in 1990 and was completed in 1993.
Via del Santuario, 96100 Siracusa SR, Italy
