In 1635-36, the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary was founded, and between 1641 and 1647, thanks also to a donation from the Capponi family of Florence, the Chapel of the Most Holy Virgin of the Rosary was built inside the Church of San Biagio. It was expanded in 1735 at the behest of parish priest Vincenzo Meucci. The old Church of San Biagio was located within the castle walls of Montecchio and is first mentioned in a document from 1014. Pastoral visits in 1468 and 1583 describe the church as being in good condition. In 1754, construction began on a new bell tower, which was completed in 1765.
The new church building was constructed starting in 1795 and completed in 1797. The initial plan called for a single-nave structure with a slightly narrower presbytery compared to the width of the church. The original design included a wooden choir, which was indeed built but destroyed in 1964. The side altars along the nave are set into the walls and decorated with light brown stucco. The façade is in a neoclassical style with a very simple design.
**Description:**
The Madonna, seated on a cloud with the Child Jesus in her arms, is depicted in the act of giving a rosary to Saint Dominic (lower left) and Saint Margaret (lower right). In the background is a Franciscan saint, possibly Francis himself. The work is by an anonymous Tuscan artist from the 17th century. The painting is listed in a 1688 inventory of the old Church of San Biagio: originally, it was placed on an altar to the left of the entrance. The image was set within a wooden panel on which the Mysteries of the Rosary had been painted by Tommaso Porta. The painting was later moved to the new Church of San Biagio but placed behind the sacristy door. On the altar dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary, another painting of the Madonna of the Rosary was placed, created by Pietro Ermini between the 18th and 19th centuries.
**Date of use:** Between 1635 and 1766
**Type:** Painting
**Original location of the shrine:**
Ex-votos were pinned to the painting of the Madonna of the Rosary.
**Notes on the collection:**
In 1738, parish priest Antonio Vincenzo Meucci hung a wooden board next to the painting where devotees could pin the jewels they brought as offerings.
**Type of ex-votos:** Jewelry
**Current preservation status:** Not preserved.
There was a book titled *Register of the Graces of the Most Holy Virgin*, but it has not been located to date.
The shrine is a chapel within the Church of San Biagio. Its existence is documented as early as 1766, when the chapel was incorporated into the original Church of San Biagio, built within the castle walls and attested since 1014. In 1795, a new Church of San Biagio was built on land owned by Knight Laparelli. The construction was completed in 1797. The object of veneration was thus transferred to this new location (the old Church of San Biagio was demolished only between 1873 and 1874). The original Chapel of the Most Holy Virgin of the Rosary, inside the first Church of San Biagio, was founded by the lay Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary (established in 1635-36), also thanks to a donation from the Capponi family of Florence, marquises of Montecchio. The chapel became a Marian shrine in 1766, through the efforts of parish priest Giuseppe Meucci.
This entry was compiled by Stefano Meacci and Giulietta Cappelletti.
Partial, temporary, and granted by the diocesan authority shortly after the coronation of the Virgin.
In 1828, San Biagio was defined as a royal patronage parish.
52043 Montecchio AR, Italy
