Often, foreign tourists do not realize how many churches there are in Italy. And sometimes even we Italians! But some are really special and surprise because they were built in really extreme places. That is the case of the sanctuary of “Madonna della Corona”, a church dedicated to holy Lady, built on a wall rock at the entrance of the Val d’Adige.

The route that we propose is the ideal destination for those tourists wishing to combine moments of pray and inner peace to opportunities to relax and enjoy the silence of the nature.

The Sanctuary is located in Spiazzi, as you can see from the map below. It was built on the rock of the mountains that surround it at 774 meters above sea level, overlooking the Adige Valley. The first church was inaugurated in 1530.

There are two PATHS to reach it: the first a very beautiful staircase from the bottom, starting from the village of Brentino, the second a road after the village of Spiazzi, which ends in a tunnel, dug into the rock in 1922. Even this road is accessible only on foot, and along the way there are the fourteen stations of the Cross.

CURIOSITY: Inside the sanctuary there is the “Scala Santa”, the holy Ladder model which is located in Rome near the Basilica of St. John Lateran. it is the ladder where the story tells that Gesus went up and down several times in the day he was scourged, crowned with thorns and sentenced to death on the cross, so tinged with his blood.

For believers, there are traditions to be followed:

• After dipping his hand in the holy water she made the sign of the cross.
• Climb the 28 steps only to his knees and each step please the Lord.
• With great concentration he meditates and prays on the Passion of Jesus Christ

CURIOSITY: The Sanctuary is the end point of the so-called JOURNEY OF TWO SANCTUARIES, that begins in the sanctuary of CHIAMPO, crosses seven valleys of the Venetian Alps and end in the sanctuary of Madonna della Corona. It ‘a devotional walk path widespread popular tradition in the Veneto and Vicenza.

CURIOSITY: THE MARIAN SANCTUARY “OUR LADY OF THE CROWN” IS ONE OF THE HOLY DOORS OF THE JUBILEE 2016 WANTED BY PAPA FRANCESCO. SAME FOR THE SANCTUARY OF PIEVE DI CHIAMPO.