Marian devotion
Where is he?
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Montallegro is located on the mountain over Rapallo, in the metropolitan city of Genoa, Liguria (Italy). The tourist sources place it at about 612 meters of altitude and OpenStreetMap identifies the shrine building on Mount Montallegro. The coordinate corresponds to the cartographed building, not to an inside location of the venerated icon.
Documented history
The sources consulted describe a sanctuary built between 1557 and 1559, after the account of an apparition attributed to the peasant Giovanni Chichizola. The place, which was previously related to the name Mons Leti, was associated with the Montallegro form in the tradition of the sanctuary. The construction of the church and the continuity of the pilgrimage are historical facts of the place; the exact date and content of the witness experience are presented as part of the devotional tradition.
The sanctuary retains a small Byzantine icon of the Dormitio Viral, considered the material center of devotion. The tourist information also indicates the arrival by the funicular of Rapallo, opened in 1934, and the presence of a room of votes. The building and the preserved objects show the development of pilgrimage and religious art, but they are not in themselves a test of each extraordinary episode associated with the icon.
Tradition
The tradition places the apparition on July 2, 1557. Giovanni Chichizola would have found the Virgin in the mountain and received the order that the inhabitants of Rapallo venerate her there. According to the story, Mary gave her an icon of the Sleep as a sign. The memory of the inhabitants, the feast and the sanctuary have kept the story alive for centuries.
Legend and limits of the record
The story of the icon that would have tried to return to its place after being transferred by sea to Ragusa belongs to the legendary tradition of the sanctuary. It is not presented as a proven fact through contemporary research. The sources also differ on the exact year of the elevation of the sanctuary to the lower basilica; therefore, a single date is not fixed here. When this discrepancy exists, it is preserved rather than filled with apparent certainty.
Ecclesial State
It consists of a Catholic sanctuary with public veneration and pilgrimage. This record is recorded permitted veneration for the veneration of Our Lady of Montallegro. The sources consulted do not contain a specific decree declaring the apparition of 1557 or the miraculous return of the icon supernatural. Documented worship and judgment of the supernatural origin of the story are different issues.
Anecdotes and stories
The exile room brings together paintings, personal objects and boat models offered by pilgrims; it is a material memory of the trust placed in the intercession of Mary. The funicular of 1934 transformed access to the mountain and connected the sanctuary to Rapallo's life. These elements make it possible to tell the social history of devotion without stating that each devotee is a medical certificate or that each tradition is documented as a history.
Prayer
Holy Mary, Mother of Jesus, intercedes for those who go up to the places of prayer and for those who seek light in their decisions. Help us to receive tradition with respect, to examine it with truth and to live with mercy. Amen.
Sources
- Hello Rapallo, Sanctuary of Montallegro, HTTP 200.
- Genova.BB, Sanctuary of Montallegro, HTTP 200.
- Giramondo Rapallo, traditions of Our Lady of Montallegro, HTTP 200.
- OpenStreetMap, way 204742171, HTTP 200.
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