The 15th-century fresco of the Madonna del Miracolo is located in the right chapel of the Oratory of San Dionigi. The sacred image is set in a precious wooden frame; the chapel also features a gilded wooden altar from the 1930s and early 20th century. The Oratory of San Dionigi has a rectangular hall layout, preceded by a churchyard that once served as a cemetery. With a vaulted ceiling, it culminates in a deep semicircular apse. Two chapels face each other within the structure: the right one dedicated to St. Joseph and the left one housing the image of the Virgin. The façade is gabled, and on the left side rises a square-plan bell tower. On the opposite side, the sacristy is attached.
**Description**: A 15th-century fresco of the Madonna del Miracolo, also known as the Madonna del Pilastro, measuring 1.63 x 1.12 meters, depicting the infant Jesus blessing and holding a book in his left hand. The fresco, possibly originating from a votive shrine, was placed in the Oratory of San Dionigi in 1611 and underwent restorations in the 18th century. Partially covered, its current placement dates back to the 1933 intervention.
**First recorded use**: 1611
**Image**: Painting
**Original location of the shrine**: Around the devotional fresco depicting the Madonna and Child, known as the Madonna del Pilastro, as attested by the 1611 Brivio visitation.
**Notes on the collection**: A large metal votive heart commemorated soldiers at the front during World War II and those imprisoned in concentration camps.
**Types of ex-votos**: Painted tablets or inscribed metal sheets, various objects
A dual investigation was conducted in Brescia and Cremona, with appearances by the parties and witnesses, confirming the miracle received by 15-year-old Francesco Del Campo of Brescia on August 17, 1615. Specifically, the records of the investigation held in Gussago on October 2, 1615, including medical statements, were sent along with the conclusions of the Cremonese inquiry to the Cremona bishopric by order of Bishop Brivio. After review by a council of canonists and theologians, the bishop issued a decree on February 16, 1616, declaring the Virgin of Cassano miraculous and worthy of veneration.
The Sanctuary of the Madonna del Miracolo is part of the Oratory of San Dionigi, which was first mentioned in the 13th century and visited in 1470 by Bishop Bottigella, and in 1565 and 1570 by Sfondrati, who noted its state of neglect and lack of services. A major renovation of the building began in 1599, culminating in the completion of the main chapel. The solemn blessing of the oratory in 1603 did not halt the works, which were still documented in 1607 and 1610. In 1611, the image of the Madonna del Pilastro was transferred here. Used for military purposes in 1705 and again in 1849, it was reopened for worship and restored between 1821 and 1825.
According to tradition, one of the reasons for the founding of the Oratory of San Dionigi in Cassano was a miracle that occurred during the translation of the relics of St. Dionysius to Milan.
**1580**: Bishop Sfondrati orders the enclosure of the cemetery in front of the oratory with wooden bars.
**1610**: Date on the façade marking the completion of construction.
**1786**: With the suppression of the confraternity, a house with a vegetable garden near the oratory is auctioned off.
**1825**: Establishment of the Congregation of Christian Families of the Good Death.
Special indulgences could be obtained during the feast of the Holy Trinity (linked to the confraternity of the same name active at the oratory from 1596 to 1798).
Subject to pastoral visits since 1470 (Bottigella’s visitation), the Church of San Dionigi in Cassano d’Adda—listed in the 1385 register among those paying tribute to the bishopric—was already noted in the early 13th century as being served by a resident priest. In 1786, with the suppression of the Confraternity of the Holy Trinity, the Oratory of San Dionigi was declared a subsidiary church of the Cassano prepositure: Mass was celebrated daily, and the sacred building featured a bell tower, an organ, a choir loft, a sacristy, and an adjacent cemetery.
Though no formal patronage can be confirmed, on May 13, 1596, Provost Dugnani established the Confraternity of the Holy Trinity, whose fifty members were responsible for the upkeep of the building and the conduct of liturgical celebrations. From the Isimbarti visitation (1674), it is noted that the brothers gathered in a room adjacent to the choir for the recitation of the Marian office. A custodian lived in a nearby building. The confraternity also solemnly celebrated the feast of August 17, supported by Prior Ignazio Guaitani (documented in 1738); it was suppressed on April 25, 1786.
20062 Cassano d’Adda, Metropolitan City of Milan, Italy
