The community of Cervaro had the main altar built against the wall that sealed off the original apse, which was decorated with paintings depicting, at the top, Christ seated on the iris and blessing while holding an open book in his left hand, inscribed with “ego sum lux mundi.” On the sides are the figures of the apostles Peter and Paul. The painting dates back to the late 14th century but echoes older iconographic styles. On the altar stood a statue of the Madonna and Child, which does not seem to correspond to the current statue of the Madonna. Flanking the statue were other paintings of the Archangel Michael and Saint John the Baptist, while in the upper area, Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica were visible. The southern wing of the church was added in 1649. Other paintings are mentioned in church inventories from 1696 and 1728 but have since completely disappeared. The bell dates to 1672. Restoration work is currently underway.
**Description:** The uncovered painting measures 0.90 by 1.50 meters. The Madonna wears a green dress with a red mantle and veil, seated with the Child in her lap, who holds a book in his left hand and blesses with his right. The Child wears a white garment with gold-like decorations resembling lilies. The painting is located in the first chapel on the left. The chapel and the altar’s arrangement appear entirely unusual when viewed from inside the church but make sense when seen from the front of the sanctuary’s façade. There is a step where one can kneel and a small ogival window through which the venerated image can be seen without entering the church. Next to the window is a masonry holy water font once used by shepherds and farmers who, passing by and finding the sanctuary closed, would kneel before the window to pray to the Madonna.
**ICCD – MNATP, Andreini**
**Date of first use:** 1396
**Image:** Painting
**Original location of the Sanctuary:** The original ex-votos were kept in the sanctuary but are now preserved in the Church of Santa Maria di Cervaro due to restoration work in the sanctuary. Since the building is temporarily closed and the church is currently inaccessible, many recent ex-votos (flowers, photographs, thank-you notes) adorn a small grotto containing a statuette of the Madonna at the roadside leading to the sanctuary, which has become a destination for devotees and pilgrims.
**Types of ex-votos:** Various objects, photographs
There is no collection of recorded miracles, but the thaumaturgic power of the image is mentioned in the decree for the church’s construction.
Abbot Enrico Tomacelli, in 1399, while authorizing the sale of some properties to complete the construction of the Church of Santa Maria de Piternis, wrote: *”We, who have been informed through multiple accounts of the miracles performed through devout prayers before the image of the Blessed Mary of Piternis…”*
Local tradition holds that in the late 14th century, the Virgin appeared to a deformed shepherdess, instructing her to tell the city magistrates to build a chapel in her honor. The shepherdess was not believed, but during a second apparition, the Virgin healed her. Only then did the people, along with the local clergy, go to the site of the apparition, where they uncovered a small shrine with an image of the Madonna and Child among the brambles—believed to be the same one venerated today at the entrance of the current church.
In front of the sanctuary stands a small plaster statue of the Madonna, where passersby, especially young couples, place small objects as votive offerings. It is said that at this very spot, the Most Holy Mary of Piternis caused water to spring forth, healing the young shepherdess. According to legend, the water stopped flowing when a soldier from Napoleon’s army threw a mangy dog into the spring.
**ICCD – MNATP, Andreini**
Pope Urban VIII, in a brief dated August 9, 1633, granted indulgences for seven years, including for the Feast of the Assumption. A plenary indulgence was granted in the first and seventh years, with seven years and seven quarantines in the intervening years.
Enrico Tomacelli, Abbot of Montecassino, merged the Church of Piternis with those of Santa Maria and San Paolo of Cervaro, with only the archpriest of Cervaro officiating liturgical functions.
The sanctuary was entrusted to a hermit, who lived in a modest dwelling adjacent to the church. An apostolic visit in 1622 noted that the hermit responsible for the church had to live on alms.
03044 Cervaro FR, Italy
