Origins
The Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Monte Berico originated from two Marian apparitions, which occurred on March 7, 1426, and August 1, 1428, on the hill south of the city of Vicenza. At that time, the area was cultivated with vineyards and orchards but lacked religious and civic settlements.
The Madonna appeared to an elderly woman of humble origins, Vincenza Pasini (circa 1356 – 1431). She delivered a message of hope to this witness during a historical period when the Vicenza area was being ravaged by continuous waves of the plague for over twenty years. To restore the light of hope, she requested that the city, through Vincenza—who was known as the seer for centuries—commit to building a church dedicated to her at the site of the apparitions.
The cornerstone was laid by Bishop Pietro Emiliani on August 25, 1428. Initially, a small chapel was built within just three months. The convent was established shortly after, in 1429, to ensure the permanent custodianship of the sacred place, which immediately became a destination for pilgrimages.
Development over the centuries
Marian devotion at Monte Berico experienced constant growth over the centuries, and with the influx of pilgrims, the size of the liturgical space progressively increased. Starting from the primitive chapel, which probably corresponds to the present-day presbytery, significant expansions of the Gothic church were already underway in the 15th century.
In 1578, the renowned architect Andrea Palladio, following a vow from the city, enlarged the temple with a large square nave. Today, there is no tangible trace of this intervention, as it was demolished in 1688 during the construction of the Baroque building. In fact, the latter reflects, on a larger scale, Palladio’s idea, which is based on the integration of the two parts of the temple, ancient and modern, at the Madonna’s altar, through the opening of a triumphal arch in the north wall of the Gothic structure.
Generation after generation, the sanctuary continues to grow in beauty thanks to the affection of the religious custodians of the place, the people of Vicenza, and numerous pilgrims from all over, who express their participation in a continually living and fresh history through various signs of their devotion – ex votos and donations – and who find in the Madonna a ceaseless embrace of mercy for all those in need of her spiritual solace.
Custodians
The first religious assigned to guard the Marian sanctuary, established in 1428, were the so-called Brigidines, members of the Order of the Most Holy Savior of St. Bridget, who remained in charge for about seven years.
After this initial community withdrew, the Servites of the Congregation of the Observance settled in on June 1, 1435. They arrived from Brescia, led by Brother Antonio da Bitetto.
It is said that this friar received a mystical calling from the Mother of God during nighttime prayer in his cell, instructing him to go to Vicenza to offer a secure and loving guardianship of the Marian temple. This same call still resonates in the hearts of the friars of Monte Berico, who have continued to safeguard the sanctuary from that distant time, both in times of peace and in adversity.