Marian devotion
Where is he?
The Shrine of the Blessed Vergine delle Grazie de Boccadirio is located in Baragazza, within the municipality of Castiglione dei Peti, in the metropolitan city of Bologna (Italy). The coordinate comes from the cartographic entity of Wikidata for the sanctuary; it refers to the whole of veneration and does not intend to fix the exact point of the story next to the Davena River.
Documented history
The information of the sanctuary spread by Vaticano.com presents a tradition dated July 16, 1480. It also describes the construction of a first church in the same century and the continuity of the building, whose structure retains features of the Cinquecentist stage although it received subsequent reforms. The main facade was remade in 1890 by Aristotele Puccetti.
The source relates the written history of the sanctuary to the book of Don Lorenzo Amorotti, parish priest of Castiglione dei Petoli between 1609 and 1621, and to an anonymous letter preserved in the Bologna State Archive. The letter is located in the late 16th century and is attributed to a religious linked to the monastery of Santa Caterina de Prato. This makes it possible to talk about a late documented tradition, not a contemporary 1480 act.
Tradition
The popular tradition tells that two pastoralists, Donato and Cornelia, received the visit of the Virgin near the Davena River. The story says that Mary announced to them a life oriented to religiosity. The same tradition links Cornelia to the later religious life and to the image of terracotta preserved on the main altar, attributed to Andrea della Robbia.
Legend and limits of the record
The date, dialogue and preaching belong to the account received by the sanctuary. They are presented as tradition, while the late letter, the building and the continuity of the cult are presented as documentary elements. It is not said that there is a modern decree here that declares the apparition supernatural and does not transform the word "miraculous," used by devotional sources for the image, into an independent conclusion.
Ecclesial State
It consists of a Catholic sanctuary with public veneration and a long history of pilgrimage in the Archdiocese of Bologna. Registered permitted veneration. The tourist source describes it as the second sanctuary of the archdiocese by importance; this description expresses its cultural relevance and does not amount to a formal approval of the supernatural of the 1480 story.
Anecdotes and stories
The image of the Virgin preserved on the main altar is traditionally related to Cornelia and her stay in Prato. The source also recalls that Prato pilgrims often came on foot. In 1880, during the fourth centenary of the apparition, the image was crowned before a large crowd. The building receives pilgrims and has reception services in the mountainous area.
Prayer
Holy Mary, Mother of Jesus, intercedes for those who seek guidance for his life and for the communities that guard the memory received. Give us humility to distinguish history, tradition and that which does not exist. Amen.
Sources
Architecture, image and pilgrimage
The history of the sanctuary is not reduced to the account of 1480. The source describes a structure that preserves the memory of the cinquecentist construction and subsequent transformations, with a facade remade in 1890. The image of glazed terracotta attributed to Andrea della Robbia is the artistic center of the church and is related by tradition with Cornelia, who would have commissioned the work during his religious life in Prato.
The pilgrimage has connected Boccadirio with localities outside the municipality. The testimony of the pilgrims of Prato who came on foot expresses a concrete devotional geography, while the 1880 coronation shows the importance that the image had for the faithful. These facts are narrated as a history of veneration and not as an obligation to believe in the account of the apparition.
The image, sources and pilgrimage of Boccadirius
The tourist information adds a relevant artistic data: the image of the Blessed Vergine delle Grazie preserved on the main altar is a work of glazed terracotta of the 16th century attributed to Andrea della Robbia. The tradition of the sanctuary relates to Sister Brigida and his stay in the monastery of Santa Caterina de Prato, where he would have commissioned the image. The verb "related" is maintained because devotional provenance and artistic attribution should not become an absolute documentary identification of each stage of the work.
The sources also allow the written memory to be placed in its context. The book of Don Lorenzo Amorotti was composed when he was a priest of Castiglione dei Petoli, between 1609 and 1621, while the letter linked to a religious of Santa Caterina is, according to the information consulted, preserved in the Bologna State Archive and is located at the end of the 16th century. These are testimonies after the 1480 story. This is why the fact sheet speaks of a late-transmitted and documented tradition, not of a contemporary act of the alleged apparition.
Boccadirio is also described as the second sanctuary of the Archdiocese of Bologna by importance, after the shrine of Madonna di San Luca. The coronation of the image in 1880 and the arrival on foot of pilgrims from Prato show the historical extension of devotion. They explain the relevance of the place and its public veneration, but do not add a statement of supernatural: the pilgrimage can be intense and ancient without each element of the story having the same degree of certainty.
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