Caravggio, Santuario di Caravaggio

The Sanctuary was commissioned by Filippo Maria Visconti (the head of the Duchy of Milan starting in 1402) to be built on the spot that on May 26th 1432, the Virgin Mary appeared to a farm girl. Renovation and expansion work was carried out on the building in the 17th century commissioned by S. Carlo Borromeo and planned by the architect Pellegrino Tibaldi (1527-1596, an artist chosen by Cardinal Borromeo to put his ecclesiastic buildings reform into effect).
The sanctuary is reached after having walked down a beautiful tree-lined road, almost 2 km long. The entire structure, the range of colours and the unique cupola all confer a significant stateliness to the building. A visit to the Sanctuary is particularly advised during the traditional religious and folkloristic feast that is organised to commemorate the 1432 apparition of the Virgin Mary on May 26th every year.