Marian devotion
Where is he?
The Madonna del Faggio Sanctuary is located in Alto Reno Terme, about three kilometres from Castelluccio, in the province of Bologna, Italy. It is located in a beech forest, in the transition area between the territory of Porretta and that of Belvedere. The coordinate comes from the cult building identified by OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
Documented history
The official tourist information of the Appennino Bologna describes an 18th-century church. The devotion began around an image of the Virgin who, according to legend, was first hung from a beech and then placed in a baking pan. The source places in 1670 the development of popular veneration and date in 1722 the foundation of the sanctuary itself.
The first name of the place was Madonna del Rio Scorticato, taken from the town. The source documents important reforms in the first half of the 19th century, the construction of the bell tower and the portico in 1837 and the continuity of religious life around the church. These elements allow you to follow the history of the building without attributing a supernatural meaning that sources do not establish.
Tradition
The tradition reports that a Marian image was placed in a beech and that, before it, they began to receive thanks. Over time the image was moved to a small construction and then to the sanctuary. The tourist source presents the legend of the tree as the origin of the name and initial impulse of devotion, not as a contemporary report of an individual apparition.
Legend and limits of the record
The miracles attributed to the image are part of the devotional memory of the place. A specific case is not established here, nor is it claimed to have been recognized by a decree. The verifiable history is based on the existence of the sanctuary, on the processions documented since 1756 and on the reforms of the building; the rest is preserved as tradition or as that which is not more accurate.
Ecclesial State
It consists of a Catholic sanctuary with public veneration, processions and seasonal celebrations. Registered permitted veneration. This state refers to the veneration and life of the sanctuary; it does not affirm formal approval of a miracle or an apparition.
Anecdotes and stories
Since 1756 the custom of carrying the image from the sanctuary to Castelluccio and returning it on the day of Ascension is maintained. The same source mentions a feast of Saint Anne, on July 26, with procession until the beech related to the origin of the cult. The forest, the path and the participation of the inhabitants of Castelluccio, Capugnano and Monteacuto delle Alpi are part of the human geography of this devotion.
Prayer
Holy Mary, Mother of Jesus, accompanies those who walk weary and the communities who keep their places of prayer. It intercede so that faith will be translated into brotherhood, care for creation and humble service. Amen.
Sources
Processions and community
The location of the sanctuary in the forest explains that the pilgrimage has a road dimension. The church is linked to Castelluccio and other communities around it, and the procession started in 1756 made the transfer of the image a shared practice: it leaves the sanctuary, arrives in Castelluccio and returns on the day of Ascension. The feast of Saint Anne on July 26 adds another day of prayer and meeting next to the beech related to tradition.
The official source also describes a portico and a bell tower built in the 19th century, as well as decorative interventions in the interior. These elements show that devotion is expressed in architecture, calendar and community participation. The reference to graces and miracles is preserved with the prudence of the source: no specific case is added and no approval is stated.
The sanctuary as a church and as a way
The official description presents the Madonna del Faggio as an 18th-century lonely church, located within a hayedo and about three kilometres from Castelluccio. The practical information indicates that from Castelluccio is followed to Pennola and that the last section can continue on foot after a barrier; the fact sheet retains this reference as general orientation of the place, not as a promise of universal accessibility or as a different coordinate than that of the cartographed building.
The architectural history adds a layer to the memory of the tree. During the first half of the 19th century, works and decorations were made related by the source with Lorenzo Pranzini, natural of Castelluccio; in 1837 the bell tower and the portico were built, elements of the whole. The sanctuary also communicates a summer opening period on Sundays. These are data about the building and its use, other than the account of the hanging image of the beech.
The path of the procession started in 1756, the feast of Saint Anne of July 26 and the celebrations of the environment form a community network between Castelluccio, Capugnano and Monteacuto delle Alpi. In it the veneration to Mary is expressed by prayer, displacement and care of the place. The fact sheet maintains prudence in the face of the graces attributed to it: the continuity of a religious practice does exist; the formal approval of a miracle or an apparition does not exist in the sources consulted.
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