Our Lady of Bonaria in Cagliari: History, Devotion, and How to Visit the Sanctuary

Our Lady of Bonaria is one of the most important symbols of the city of Cagliari, in Sardinia. The sanctuary, located on the Bonaria hill, has been a pilgrimage destination for centuries and has been visited by numerous popes. In this article, we will tell you the history of Our Lady of Bonaria, the devotion dedicated to her, and how to visit the sanctuary.

History of Our Lady of Bonaria:
According to legend, in the 14th century, a Spanish fisherman found an image of the Virgin Mary in his fishing net off the coast of Cagliari. The image depicted the Madonna holding the Child Jesus and was brought to safety in the Church of San Sepolcro, where it was venerated by the faithful. In 1324, a group of Franciscan monks arrived in Cagliari and founded the Bonaria convent, where the image of the Madonna was transferred. From that moment on, the sanctuary became an important place of worship and prayer for the Sardinian people.

Devotion to Our Lady of Bonaria:
Our Lady of Bonaria is venerated as the patroness of the city of Cagliari and Sardinia. The sanctuary houses the original image of the Madonna, which is carried in procession every year on May 1st during the feast of Sant’Efisio. The Madonna of Bonaria has been visited by numerous popes, including Pius IX, John Paul II, and Francis, who have confirmed the devotion and reverence toward the Virgin.

How to Visit the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Bonaria:
The sanctuary of Our Lady of Bonaria is located on the Bonaria hill, a few kilometers from the center of Cagliari. You can reach the sanctuary on foot by following the staircase that starts from Santa Croce Square, or by car or public transportation. The sanctuary is open every day, and admission is free. During your visit, you can admire the original image of the Madonna of Bonaria, the side chapels, the cloister, and the convent church. Additionally, the sanctuary offers a spectacular view of the city and the sea.

Our Lady of Bonaria represents one of the most important symbols of the city of Cagliari and Sardinia. The sanctuary, located on the Bonaria hill, has been a pilgrimage destination for centuries and has been visited by numerous popes. If you are planning a trip to Cagliari, do not miss the opportunity to visit the sanctuary and admire the original image of the Madonna of Bonaria, the side chapels, the cloister, and the convent church. Also, don’t forget to enjoy the spectacular view of the city and the sea that the sanctuary offers. The sanctuary of Our Lady of Bonaria is easily accessible by public transportation or on foot by following the staircase that starts from Santa Croce Square. Admission is free, and the visit is a unique and evocative experience that will immerse you in the history and spirituality of Sardinia.

Historical Notes, Insights, and Mystical and Miraculous Curiosities:
The sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of Bonaria is considered the most important Marian shrine in Sardinia. The basilica is accompanied by a small sacred building in Catalan Gothic style.

It is officiated by the Mercedarian Fathers, who reside in the adjacent convent, which serves as the parish seat of the Bonaria neighborhood.

In front of the church, there is a large square and a staircase leading to Via Diaz.
The idea of building a larger church arose after the arrival by sea of a large wooden chest containing the statue of the Virgin and Child on March 25, 1370.

Tradition holds that the chest was thrown into the sea by a Spanish ship traveling between Spain and Italy. During the voyage, a storm threatened to sink the ship, and the crew decided to jettison all the cargo to save their lives and those of the passengers. The storm calmed only after the chest, whose origin was unknown to all, was thrown overboard and was carried ashore by the current, along with the ship itself.

After many attempts, only the Mercedarian friars living on the Bonaria hill managed to open the chest. Inside was the statue of the Madonna holding the Child, which is still displayed in the sanctuary adjacent to the basilica. The chest, however, is kept in the basilica’s halls.

Thus, the Virgin of Bonaria was given the title of protector of sailors.

In the past, as well as today, many people have brought ex-votos to the statue of the Madonna, particularly to thank her for the safe outcome of a sea voyage.

The accumulation of ex-votos led to the creation of a museum to preserve them.

The basilica was designed by Antonio Felice de Vincenti and took a long time to complete, partly due to lack of funds. Consecrated on April 25, 1926, it was granted the title of Minor Basilica by Pope Pius XI and was completed in 1952.

In 1704, construction began on the monumental basilica next to the sanctuary, which, after many interruptions, was completed in 1956.

It has a Latin cross plan divided into three naves by paired columns, with an octagonal dome at the crossing of the arms and a porticoed facade.

Description: A 167 cm tall carob wood statue created in the last quarter of the 15th century in Naples. The Madonna, covered by a mantle in estofado de oro, wears a red and gold tunic with a rich belt and holds the naked Child in her right hand.

In use: between 1475 and 1499

Image: Statue

Description: Before the arrival of the statue of the Madonna of Bonaria by sea, the main altar of the Church of the Holy Trinity and Santa Maria featured an approximately 80 cm tall Byzantine-style statue of the Madonna and Child, known as the Madonna of the Miracle.

In use: between 1324 and 1475 Image: Statue

Original location of the Sanctuary: The ex-votos were placed on the walls of a corridor adjacent to the sacristy and, at the end of this corridor, on the interior and exterior of the Chapel of the Purissima.

Notes on the collection: The ex-votos preserved in the sanctuary date back to ancient times, from the 15th century (an ivory ship model) to the present day.

Types of ex-votos: Inscribed tablets or plaques, painted tablets, goldsmith objects, various objects, photographs, others

Current preservation: In 1968, during a renovation of the ex-voto corridor, some of them were moved to the museum created in the rooms overlooking the cloister adjacent to the sanctuary, while others, especially photographs, remain in the corridor.

References to publications or printed descriptions: Attached to the records of the canonical process of 1592 is an inventory of 109 ex-votos painted on wood, published by Alziator (Un inventario cinquecentesco di ex-voto, 1959).

Lists of the most curious ex-votos can be found in almost all works about the sanctuary. A catalog of painted ex-votos, with accompanying photos, is in Satta, I miracoli per grazia ricevuta, 2000.
The oldest miracles are already mentioned in the work of Brondo (Historia y milagros de N. Senora de Buenayre, 1595) and in many subsequent publications. A list of miracles is also found in the records of the canonical process of 1592.

Other texts that mention miracles include: Sulis, Della miracolosa immagine…, 1866; Figari, Cagliari raccontata…, 1990; Lippi, La Madre di Dio…, 1870; Schirillo, Notizie storiche…, 1935.
18th century (entire building design)

A project was entrusted to the Piedmontese military engineer Antonio Felice De Vincenti, who also created a wooden model, considered an important document of Baroque style on the island.

The project envisioned a three-nave layout, a slightly pronounced transept, domes over the presbytery and at the crossing with the transept, and an entrance portico. Although never completed, it served as an example for later Sardinian architecture. As attested by documents in the Archive of the Crown of Aragon in Barcelona, the church was founded in 1324 by Infante Alfonso in gratitude for the successful landing in Sardinia (see bibliography M. M. Costa).
On April 24, 1370, a chest thrown from a ship in distress washed ashore near the Church of the Holy Trinity and Santa Maria.

Only the Mercedarians managed to open it and found inside a statue of the Madonna that miraculously indicated its desire to remain in the nearby church.

The legend has been published in all works about the sanctuary since the 16th century.

The oldest is by Antioco Brondo, Historia y milagros de N. Senora de Buenayre de la Ciudad de Callar de la Isla de Cerdena, de la Orden de N.S. de la Merced, Redemption de captivos Christianos …, Cagliari, Iuan Maria Galcerino, 1595.

1- The statue that arrived by sea, placed in a side chapel of the Church of the Holy Trinity, switches places with the Madonna of the Miracle, which is on the main altar. The friars move them back, but they switch places again, so the statue of the Madonna of Bonaria is left on the main altar.

2- Two soldiers were playing cards; one promised half of his potential winnings to the Madonna, but he lost and, upon returning to the church, stabbed the statue of the Madonna (henceforth called the Madonna of the Miracle), from which blood flowed. He was left mute and paralyzed, taken to prison, while the statue retained the scar.

3- A woman from the Iberian Peninsula, en route to the Holy Land, visited the Bonaria church and decided not to continue her journey, donating to the Virgin the ivory ship model she was taking to the Holy Sepulchre. Hung from a hemp rope inside the sanctuary, it indicates the direction of the winds in the Gulf of Angels.
By order of the Archbishop of Cagliari, Mons. Francesco Del Val, from March 4 to July 31, 1592, a canonical process was held to verify the authenticity of the events at Bonaria. The original records are still kept in the Bonaria convent, while two other handwritten copies have been missing for some time.

An anonymous translation, the Processo canonico della venuta prodigiosa in Cagliari del simulacro di N.S. di Bonaria stabilito nel 1592 da Mons. Francesco Del-Vall Arcivescovo di Cagliari. Traduzione dal catalano, Cagliari, Falconi, presumably from the early 1900s, was kept in the Cagliari Municipal Library (shelf mark Misc.Sarda.E.87.4), but it too has disappeared in recent times.

The Bonaria sanctuary also appears in Iberian literature: Tirso de Molina, to justify the presence of two of his characters in Cagliari, says they were on a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Buen-Ayre, the miraculous patroness of Sardinia and the only refuge in those seas.
Leo X, on July 28, 1516, granted the sanctuary the same indulgences as those earned by visiting Rome and the holy sites; on April 24, 1895, indulgences were granted for the consecration of the altar; Pius X, on October 2, 1907, granted a perpetual plenary indulgence to the faithful who visit the sanctuary on April 24, a perpetual daily plenary indulgence to those who visit the sanctuary, and a perpetual privileged altar to priests who celebrate Mass there.

In 1348, the small church was entrusted by King Peter IV of Aragon to the Mercedarians of the province of Aragon. In 1750, the Mercedarian convents in Sardinia were united into an autonomous Sardinian province. Currently, the jurisdiction is mixed: episcopal for parish duties, which are still officiated by the Mercedarians (and thus also answer to the Mercedarian Order).

The Church of the Holy Trinity and Santa Maria fell under parish jurisdiction from its founding and was entrusted to a rector.

On October 17, 1335, King Alfonso donated the church to the Mercedarians to establish a convent. On June 15, 1336, Peter IV confirmed the donation, which took effect upon the death of Rector Giordano in 1348. The Mercedarians are still present today.
The parish of the Holy Trinity and Santa Maria was entrusted by Infante Alfonso to the priest Guglielmo Giordano. In 1339, the rector, expelled from the church, appealed to Pope Benedict XII but was soon reinstated.
Royal patronage over the sanctuary is documented by several episodes, including: on April 27, 1350, Peter IV reaffirmed to the Archbishop of Cagliari the royal patronage over the church, not just the Chapel of the Holy Trinity; in 1777, Viceroy Lascarisì ordered the friars to hand over the keys to the general intendant (see bibliography M. M. Carta).

Piazza Bonaria, 2, 09125 Cagliari, Italy