The building, with a longitudinal layout, features a single nave with a raised presbytery and a semicircular apse. The interior has a coffered ceiling and walls articulated by round arches. The façade, topped by a triangular pediment, is divided into three sections by projecting pilasters: smooth in the lower order and fluted in the upper. The lower section encloses a central portal with a lunette and round-arched niches on the sides, while the upper section has rectangular recesses, the central one containing a circular stained-glass window. The bell tower is attached to the left side, adjacent to the apse.
**Description:**
On the high altar stands a carved and painted wooden statue depicting the Madonna delle Grazie: the Virgin is seated on a throne, holding the Child Jesus on her left knee with her arms. The work, commissioned from the Neapolitan sculptor Arcangelo Testa in January 1837, was delivered to Tresilico the following October.
**In use since:** 1837
**Image:** Statue
**Description:**
The current image of the Madonna delle Grazie was preceded by a wooden statue of the same subject, purchased in July 1832, likely for processional use. In 1979, it was still preserved and venerated in the historic Palazzo Vorluni (LIBERTI, 1979, p. 48). Earlier still, a marble image of the Virgin, attributed to a sculptor of the Gagini school active in the third or fourth decade of the 16th century, was venerated in the small church of Santa Maria del Pilar. After the collapse of the church in the Pileri district, the statue was moved to the parish church of Tresilico, where it remains today, though Marian devotion ceased until its revival around the 1830s.
**In use since:** 1832
**Image:** Statue
**Original location of the Sanctuary:** Unknown
**Notes on the collection:**
The collection includes a reliquary of the Madonna, made of cast metal and offered as an ex-voto, inscribed with a dedication; eight embossed silver plaques depicting the Sacred Heart; and various pendant reliquaries in silver, metal, or wood, dating from the 18th to the 20th century. Additionally, there are anatomical wax reproductions and more recent photographs.
**Types of ex-votos:** Inscribed tablets or plaques, jewelry items, real or represented prosthetics, photographs
**Current preservation:** Housed in a glass cabinet on the right wall of the sacristy; jewelry items are kept in a secure location.
**Reference to publications or printed descriptions:** Liberti, 1979, p. 70
Gaetano Morizzi, a physician and mayor of Tresilico in 1819, authored a manuscript titled *Fiori di grazie sparse a comun profitto dalla Vergine SS. nel Comune di Tresilico… Raccolte da un suo beneficiato sino all’anno 1837 ed esposte in aspetto storico con riflessioni, e note apologetiche…*. In it, Morizzi recounts miracles attributed to the Madonna delle Grazie, though the Church never officially recognized them.
In 1717, half a kilometer from the village, there stood a small church dedicated to Santa Maria del Pilar, a frequent pilgrimage site due to the miraculous origin of its cult (see LIBERTI, 1979, pp. 32–35) and the graces bestowed by the Virgin, whose marble image dated to the first half of the 16th century. After the 1783 earthquake, the ruined church was abandoned, becoming a burial ground, and the statue of the Madonna del Pilar was moved to the parish church of Santa Caterina in Tresilico. After a period of decline, the ancient Marian devotion was revived with the arrival of a wooden image of the Madonna delle Grazie in July 1832.
Legend holds that, at an unspecified time, some residents of Tresilico found the marble statue of the Madonna del Pilar buried in the sand on the beach of Gioia Tauro. Astonished by the unusual discovery, they loaded the statue onto an ox-drawn cart to bring it to their village. Near Tresilico, they encountered residents of Oppido, who claimed the sacred image for themselves. At the height of the dispute, it was decided to unhitch the oxen and replace them with two young steers, allowing them free rein to guide the cart. The cart stopped near Tresilico, in an area later called Pileri, where a small church was built to house the Madonna’s effigy.
**Timeline:**
– c. 1530: Creation of the marble statue of the Madonna del Pilar.
– 1783: Abandonment of the damaged church of the Madonna del Pilar after the earthquake; the statue was moved to the parish church of Santa Caterina.
– c. 1783–1832: Interruption of Marian devotion in Tresilico.
– 1832: A wooden image of the Madonna delle Grazie arrives, reigniting devotion.
– October 30, 1837: Solemn entrance of the new statue of the Madonna delle Grazie.
– July 2, 1954: Solemn coronation of the Madonna delle Grazie, presided over by Bishop Maurizio Raspini of Oppido.
– July 2, 1958: The parish church of Santa Caterina is elevated to a Sanctuary and dedicated to the Madonna delle Grazie.
– 1974: Restoration work.
On June 3, 1958, the Holy Father granted a plenary indulgence via decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary to those who, after confession, made a pilgrimage to the Sanctuary on the Feast of the Visitation and prayed there. On June 18, 1966, the indulgence was extended to any day of the year, and on February 17, 1975, the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed was added as a requirement.
The small church of Santa Maria del Pilar fell under the jurisdiction of the parish of Santa Caterina in Tresilico. After the 1783 earthquake, the ruined church was abandoned, and the statue of the Madonna was transferred to Santa Caterina.
The administrative care of the Sanctuary has been under the diocese’s jurisdiction since at least the abandonment of Santa Maria del Pilar and the transfer of Marian devotion to Santa Caterina.
89014 Tresilico RC, Italy
