In 1522 when the French troops threatened to conquer and plunder Treviglio, a town in the Bergamo plain, a miraculous event occurred. An image of the Madonna and Child, painted on the wall of the bell tower in the church of the Augustinian convent, began to weep tears.
The French general Odet de Foix, in front of the miraculous painting, placed his helmet and sword and so did his soldiers. That was how Treviglio was spared from looting and destruction.
Since that year, the last day of February has been a solemn celebration for all the inhabitants of Treviglio.
Sixty years after the miracle, in 1583, at the behest of San Carlo Borromeo, the authentication procedure began. It was completed in 1591, when it was decided to build the sanctuary. Construction began 3 years later, on a project by the architect Tolomeo Rinaldi.
In 1619, Carlo Borromeo’s trusted architect cut the wall of the bell tower of the little church of the Augustinian Convent on which the miraculous image of the Madonna was painted. It was then installed in the new sanctuary. Since then, the Sanctuary has been a pilgrimage destination.
Commemorations
Tradition has it that every year, on the evening of February 27, during mass, the painting of the Madonna is veiled, testifying to the anguish of that historic night in 1522 when the army was ready to destroy the city.
The next day, at 8am, during the Mass "of the miracle" usually in front of the Archbishop, the Image is uncovered while singing Te Deum.
It is a particularly emotional experience.
The Treviglio Sanctuary houses precious works of art, more than a thousand angels are depicted in the decorations. These, together with the golden decorations prefigure the promise of heaven and salvation made possible by the Miracle of Faith. Even the architectural structure recalls the journey of the faithful from conversion, to baptism to resurrection in Christ. An ideal path that invites the conversion of the heart.
In addition to being a place of faith, the sanctuary can be considered a small museum. Inside it preserves works spanning 5 centuries. Starting from the miraculous image, painted at the end of the fifteenth century, up to the mosaics by the master Trento Longaretti, of the contemporary era.
It passes from the simple and rigorous language of the fifteenth / sixteenth century painting, to the great Baroque emphasis of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Then the narrative and didactic linearity of the twentieth century, up to the Art Nouveau decorativism of the crypt and the windows.
The sanctuary houses an organ built by the Serassi family, famous organ builders. The sanctuary is part of the eastern leaf of the path of Saint Augustine (Sant’Agostino).
In 1522 when the French troops threatened to conquer and plunder Treviglio, a town in the Bergamo plain, a miraculous event occurred. An image of the Madonna and Child, painted on the wall of the bell tower in the church of the Augustinian convent, began to weep tears.
The French general Odet de Foix, in front of the miraculous painting, placed his helmet and sword and so did his soldiers. That was how Treviglio was spared from looting and destruction.
Since that year, the last day of February has been a solemn celebration for all the inhabitants of Treviglio.
Sixty years after the miracle, in 1583, at the behest of San Carlo Borromeo, the authentication procedure began. It was completed in 1591, when it was decided to build the sanctuary. Construction began 3 years later, on a project by the architect Tolomeo Rinaldi.
In 1619, Carlo Borromeo’s trusted architect cut the wall of the bell tower of the little church of the Augustinian Convent on which the miraculous image of the Madonna was painted. It was then installed in the new sanctuary. Since then, the Sanctuary has been a pilgrimage destination.
Commemorations
Tradition has it that every year, on the evening of February 27, during mass, the painting of the Madonna is veiled, testifying to the anguish of that historic night in 1522 when the army was ready to destroy the city.
The next day, at 8am, during the Mass "of the miracle" usually in front of the Archbishop, the Image is uncovered while singing Te Deum.
It is a particularly emotional experience.
The Treviglio Sanctuary houses precious works of art, more than a thousand angels are depicted in the decorations. These, together with the golden decorations prefigure the promise of heaven and salvation made possible by the Miracle of Faith. Even the architectural structure recalls the journey of the faithful from conversion, to baptism to resurrection in Christ. An ideal path that invites the conversion of the heart.
In addition to being a place of faith, the sanctuary can be considered a small museum. Inside it preserves works spanning 5 centuries. Starting from the miraculous image, painted at the end of the fifteenth century, up to the mosaics by the master Trento Longaretti, of the contemporary era.
It passes from the simple and rigorous language of the fifteenth / sixteenth century painting, to the great Baroque emphasis of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Then the narrative and didactic linearity of the twentieth century, up to the Art Nouveau decorativism of the crypt and the windows.
The sanctuary houses an organ built by the Serassi family, famous organ builders. The sanctuary is part of the eastern leaf of the path of Saint Augustine (Sant’Agostino).
