What to see at the Nostra Signora della Misericordia Shrine, a popular place of worship located near Savona, history of the apparition and the Shrine.
Tourist information
About seven kilometers from the center of Savona stands the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy, built following the apparition of the Virgin Mary to the farmer Antonio Botta, on March 18, 1536.
During the apparition, the Madonna dressed in white and wrapped in a dazzling light, told Antonio to go to his confessor, so that he would announce to the people to fast for three Saturdays, and to reach that place in procession to honor God and His Mother then asked him to return on the fourth Saturday.
On the fourth Saturday after the event, corresponding to April 8, 1536 and on the eve of Palm Sunday, Antonio Botta returned to the place of the apparition.
After gathering in prayer, the Virgin appeared to him again asking for three more fast Saturdays and a new procession of the people, especially the disciplinary Confraternities, praising their work and recommending that they announce to everyone to leave vices and sins.
At the conclusion of the apparition, the Virgin Mary said the words, Mercy, Son I want and not justice.
This teaching of the Madonna was accepted with faith and dedication by the city of Savona, which was going through a difficult period, after the defeat suffered in 1528 by the Republic of Genoa.
Since then, on March 18 of each year, to commemorate the event of the apparition, a procession led by the Bishop is made, with the Confraternities of the Diocese and the faithful, departing from the cathedral square of Savona and arriving at the Sanctuary.
The construction of the architectural complex of the Sanctuary was started in the same year in which the Marian apparition took place, i.e. in 1536.
The whole today includes the Basilica with the square, the Pallavicino and Tursi palaces, the large late-sixteenth-century palace of the New Hospice, and other buildings.
The Basilica collects masterpieces by prestigious artists, such as Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Orazio Borgianni, Bernardo Castello, Domenichino, and is also a very honored place of worship.
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Since the Confraternities are remembered and praised in the message to Blessed Botta, this place of worship was proclaimed National Shrine of the Confraternities of Italy, on March 18, 2009, by the Bishop of the Diocese of Savona-Noli.
What see
The crypt houses the statue of the Madonna della Misericordia crowned by Pope Pius VII in 1815.
The facade designed by Taddeo Carlone in late Mannerist forms was completed between 1609 and 1615.
During the seventeenth century the nine votive chapels located on the pilgrims' route were also built, which starts from the Borgo di Lavagnola and arrives at the Sanctuary, while the chapel of the Crocetta dates back to 1680, built on the knoll where a cross commemorated another apparition of the Virgin. Maria, which took place on 18 March 1580 to Father Agostino of Genoa.
In 1708 the baroque fountain by Giacomo Ponsonelli from Massa was placed in the center of the scenic square.
In the part that connects the Palazzetto del Duca di Tursi and the Hospice de ’Poveri, you can visit the Treasure Museum and the Peluzzi Room, as well as the interesting collection of ex-votos donated to the Madonna della Misericordia as a sign of gratitude.
