The Church of Monserrato towers above the hamlets of Diano and Calvisi. A miracle took place on the very spot upon which the church was erected in 1700.

    As the legend goes, a shepherd named Giovanni Sposato, who lived in the highest part of Calvisi, dreamed that the Madonna pointed out to him a place in the woods that he should reach and there start to dig. 

    Upon waking the shepherd went to that very spot, began digging, and his efforts brought to light a painting of the Madonna of Monserrato that would, from then on, be worshipped as a sacred icon.

    This caused a great stir among the people of Scigliano who decided to build a church on the site. The painting, which has been granted the golden crown by the Capitulary of the Holy See, was majestically hung above the main altar.

    Because the Church of Monserrato is on the outskirts of the town, it was judged safer to move the precious painting to another location. A copy has been put in  its place.

    Father D. Giuseppe Arcuri became the principal of an educational institution ( Casa di Isruzione Educativa ) built in 1790 and affiliated with the church of Monserrato. In recent years, the school-building, long ago abandoned, has been turned into the hotel-restaurant “il Ginnasio”.

    Within the church there are relics of many saints and the mortal remains of the Christian martyr Saint Justin, preserved in a glass case in one of the aisles.

    Every year, on the Sunday of the second week of July, Scigliano celebrates the feast of the Madonna of Monserrato with a procession winding through the hamlets of the town.

Webmaster Raffaele Pane

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