CHIAMPO Grotta di Lourdes e la Pieve

If you visit Vicenza and its surroundings, don’t miss the Grotta di Lourdes in Chiampo, called in this way since it is an imitation of the French original one. It was constructed by Fra Claudio Granzotto, Franciscan friar beatified in 1994 by John Paul II. In the niche, as in Massabielle, there is the statue of the ‘Immacolata Concezione’, 1.78 m high. The consecration of the place happened in September 29, 1935 and during the Lourdian centenary of 1958 hosted 200 thousand pilgrims. In this place there are also a monument dedicated to Bernardette Soubirous, made by Fra Claudio in 1942, the ‘Via Crucis’ in the Botanic Park, the Museum 'P. Aurelio Menin' and the New Church, shaped like a shell to accommodate the growing flow of pilgrims.

TRISSINO Grotta di Lourdes
It is a natural ravine near Villa Trissino Marzotto, consecrated to Our Lady of Lourdes. It can be visited all year round and from there you can also enjoy a magnificent view of the town and the valley. 

 

CISMON DEL GRAPPA
Santuario della Madonna del Pedancino
The popular devotion started during the fight against sacred images, but strengthened after the apparition of the Virgin to a mute shepherd boy at the end of the eighteenth century who after the episode began to speak. A small chapel was built and a huge devotion towards the Madonna del Pedancino spread all over in the Brenta valley. In 1748 a miraculous rescue of the wooden statue of the Madonna occurred, surprisingly it remained intact even though the violent storm and the consequent flood destroyed the oratory where it was located. The statue was rescued in Pozzoleone and brought back with a solemn procession in 1760 to the reconstructed chapel. Still today, in August, this rescue is celebrated with a festival called ‘Festa dell’emigrante’ (literally: festival of the emigrant) since a lot of people come back for the occasion.

MUSSOLENTE
Santuario della Madonna dell’acqua
This place is known for the miraculous rescue of the statue of the Madonna after a violent flood occurred in 1636 caused by overflow of the torrent Volon. The statue was found intact by an inhabitant who recovered it and relocated it after 3 years to the small church up on the hill. Since then, the population has been very devoted to the Madonna of the water, so called due to the circumstances of its discovery, and asks her to protect crops and animals from water scarcity and to protect the population from the war as happened in 1917 after the defeat of Caporetto and in 1944 due to the Nazi occupation.

SAN NAZARIO
Chiesa della Madonna dell’Onda
This popular tradition started after the tragic overflow of river Brenta, which destroyed houses and streets but preserved the Chapel, built in 1547, where inside there was a fresco of the ‘Madonna con bambino e i Santi Rocco e Sebastiano’. The inhabitants, who considered it a miraculous event, built a church around the Chapel in honour of the ‘Madonna dell’Onda’ (literally: Madonna of the wave), attracting large flows of pilgrims, thus making it necessary to build a larger Temple in 1833. Every year two processions are celebrated at the same time from San Nazario and from Valstagna with two different statues of the Madonna, that meet halfway, bowing towards each other as a good luck gesture against floods.

MAROSTICA LOCALITÀ VALLONARA
Madonna dei Capitei
It seems that the church had been constructed in 1620, where previously various capitals dedicated to the Virgin were built after the apparitions of the Madonna. Unfortunately, there isn’t much information about the apparitions and when they happened. However, they are still celebrated nowadays during a popular festival called ‘festa della Comparsa’. There are more than fifty votive donations with the image of the miraculous Virgin inside the Church.

GALLIO
Sacello della Madonna del Carmine
It is a votive shrine erected as thanks for having protected the town from the violence of the Second World War. The memories of the wounds inflicted upon the territory of the Altopiano by the first world war was still there when the second conflict started and the population then made a vow which was fulfilled with the construction of this small church, which was blessed on the 16th of July, 1946 after an imposing procession on the Ferragh hill. In 1989 a violent storm shattered the statue in thousands pieces, which were scattered across the lawns in front. Also in this case the popular pity and the devotion to the Madonna animated the meticulous collection and the statue was recomposed and appropriately restored to the point that in 1991 it was relocated to the cusp.

 

And much more:
• Vicenza, Basilica dei SS. Felice e Fortunato
• Vicenza, Chiesa di S. Corona
• Bassano,Santuario della Beata Giovanna – tomb
• Marola, Chiesa Parrocchiale, tomb of Eurosia Fabris
• Schio Istituto Canossiane, teca di Santa Bakhita