Marian shrine dedicated to the Black Madonna, il Oropa Sanctuary it is not far from Biella. And it is truly suggestive, with the mountains surrounding it and that beauty typical of a mystical place.

Sanctuary of Oropa, the history

The tradition tells that the Sanctuary of Oropa was founded by Sant'Eusebio (bishop of Vercelli) in the 2th century. However, there is no document that states this. The first official testimony is a Bull of Pope Innocent III which, dated May 1207, XNUMX, mentions two churches in Oropa: one dedicated to Santa Maria, the other to San Bartolomeo. It seems that these buildings dated back to the VIII-IX century, and if the first "disappeared" the second has been rediscovered in recent years and therefore open to the public. There gothic statue kept in the Sanctuary of Oropa is instead the work of the anonymous Master of the Madonna di Oropa and was built in the first half of the thirteenth century. It is precisely because of the Black Madonna, that pilgrims arrive here to ask for graces and miracles.

Sanctuary of Oropa - View from the helicopter
View from the helicopter (photo taken from the media center of the Sanctuary of Oropa)

The appearance of the Sanctuary of Oropa changed in the Baroque era, when Maria Apollonia and Francesca Caterina di Savoia founded the "daughters of Mary". They were not nuns, in reality, and they did not take their vows: they were lay women who assisted the pilgrims and took care of the sanctuary (as they still do today). They worked here Philip Juvarra, Ignazio Galletti and Guarino Guarini. And the result was the construction of a sanctuary-hospice. In the seventeenth century, when the plague devastated the country, Oropa remained uncontaminated: the villagers had made a vow to the Black Madonna, and were convinced that she had protected them.

The miracles of the Black Madonna

There are many stories that revolve around the Sanctuary of Oropa. According to legend, Sant'Eusebio hid the statue of the Black Madonna under a erratic boulder lest it fall into the hands of heretics. And it is right on top of the boulder that the chapel of the Ròc. A second boulder, the roc 'dla Life, is now incorporated in the sanctuary and - once - used by women to stimulate fertility (initially they rubbed on the rock, and then “limited themselves” to beating against the bottom).

Sanctuary of Oropa - The statue of the Black Madonna
The statue of the Black Madonna (credit Vassil - CC0)

The Black Madonna is also at the center of tales and "mysteries". In spite of his years, shows no signs of wear: not even the foot, which the elderly and the sick touched, is worn out. Dust never settles on the face of the Madonna and child: to prove it, every year since the nineteenth century a white cloth which remains intact (while on the rest of the body it collects dust). Finally, it is said that, in 1600, during an attempt to move it closer to Biella, it suddenly became heavy enough to make transport impossible. These legends and tales make the Sanctuary of Oropa an even more special place.

Featured photo taken from Wikipedia (credit Davide Papalini - CC BY-SA 3.0)

Sanctuary of Oropa, a sacred place among the world heritage sites last edit: 2021-07-28T09:00:00+02:00 da Laura Alberti

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