The chapel, simple and linear in design, was annexed to a newly built convent in 1610. During the 17th century, the convent premises were repurposed as a lazaretto. In 1806, the entire architectural complex was reconstructed and used as a retreat for spiritual exercises. By the mid-19th century, the oratory became a cemetery area, as evidenced by numerous tombstones and plaques inside. Additionally, in more recent times, to increase space for worshippers, the arcades of the portico were enclosed with stained glass, and two openings were made on either side of the original entrance. The expansion of the oratory took place between 1950 and 1966, while awaiting the construction of the nearby Parish of Madonna della Neve, during which the oratory served parish functions. Today, due to urban development in Piombino, the oratory is located within the city center, surrounded by dense modern housing. The oratory suffers from severe humidity issues and is in need of restoration.

**Description:** Sources mention an Image of the Madonna but do not specify its material. Today, this image has been lost.
**In use from:** Between 1400 and 1499
**Image:** Other
**Type:** Object of worship not classifiable as an image or relic
**Collection of ex-votos:** No
**Original location of the shrine:** Given the state of documentation, it is impossible to determine whether ex-votos were ever present in the shrine.

The data regarding this small shrine is extremely scarce. We know with certainty that the cult was flourishing in the 15th century and declined during the 19th century. In the 17th century, the premises attached to the oratory were temporarily converted into a lazaretto. In 1806, coinciding with the suppression of religious orders by the French government, the oratory was reserved for funeral masses. On July 16, 1807, Felice Primo Baciocchi, Prince of Lucca and Piombino, granted the requests in a petition from Piombino’s notables and established the ‘Compagnia della Misericordia di Piombino’ at the oratory. The following August, Baciocchi issued the ‘Decree concerning the organization and functions of the Compagnia della Misericordia.’

When, in 1798, there was an attempt to abolish the feast of Madonna della Neve, the Elders of Capoliveri wrote to the Bishop of Massa Marittima, urging that neither this feast nor those of San Rocco and Santa Lucia be suppressed. The Confraternity of Mercy, established by Prince Baciocchi in 1807, was actually a revival of the ancient Confraternity of the Body of Christ, founded in 1576. In 1782, it was based in the Church of the Conventual Augustinian Fathers and was affiliated with the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary. After the fall of the Baciocchi, the confraternity was re-established under the title of the Most Holy Sacrament and the Crucifix and was based in the chapel of the Holy Rosary in the current Piombino Cathedral.

In 1964, Don Vito Latini, parish priest of Misericordia, wrote to the bishop expressing the need of Piombino residents in the Desco district (greatly expanded due to the construction of housing for Italsider employees) to have at least Sunday Mass celebrated in the Church of Santa Maria della Neve due to mobility issues. The priest was willing to reduce services in the churches of Misericordia and Sant’Antimo and officiate in the Desco church, potentially making it a parish center. He also offered to live in the caretaker’s house, with plans to improve it later. To realize this project, uncertainties about the oratory’s ownership—then claimed by both Rector Lombardi and the local Seminary—had to be resolved. A petition from neighborhood residents accompanied Don Vito Latini’s request.

In March 1966, it was announced that on April 10, Easter Sunday, a new parish of Santa Maria della Neve would be established in the Desco area, entrusted to the spiritual economist, the parish priest of Porto Azzurro. The parish was erected on April 10, and on August 28, 1968, the parish priest of the Immaculate Conception in Piombino donated land to the new parish for building the rectory and parish facilities.

This entry was compiled by Beatrice Sordini and Isabella Gagliardi.
See diocesan variations.

In 1610, a convent of Capuchin friars was annexed to the chapel. From 1935, the presence of Conventual Franciscan friars is documented.

The patronage of Antonio Rubino, heir of Domenico Rubino, is first attested in 1873 in a visitation of Rural Public Oratories of the Vicariate, preserved in the diocesan archive of Massa Marittima. Inside the church, a plaque from 1848 commemorates the burial of Vincenzo Rubino, described as an honest and virtuous man who did not boast of the honors he received—commanding national forces in Piombino under Elisa Baciocchi’s government, serving on the administrative council, captaining volunteer coastal hunters, and serving as an incorruptible municipal gonfalonier for nine years. The oratory was owned by the Parrini family (it also houses the tombs of some family members who died between 1918 and 1920), who transferred ownership rights to the San Cerbone Entity about twenty years ago.

57025 Piombino, Province of Livorno, Italy