Monte della Madonna
| Monte della Madonna | ||
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| height | 526 m slm | |
| location | Padua Province , Veneto , Italy | |
| Mountains | Euganean Hills | |
| Coordinates | 45 ° 21 ′ 31 ″ N , 11 ° 39 ′ 20 ″ E | |
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The Monte della Madonna is with 526 m the second highest point of the Euganean Hills in the Venetian province of Padua in the area of the municipalities Teolo and Rovolon ; Monte Venda alone exceeds it in height with 601 m.
As the site of a former Marian shrine and later a Benedictine shrine, Monte della Madonna is one of the protected cultural assets of the nature park .
History of the sanctuary
A Marian shrine on the hill is documented by the deed of gift of a Paduan merchant named Wirixolo from October 11, 1253; the underlying hermitage is presumably much older. It was looked after by the Confraternita della Madonna del Monte from Rovolon until 1508 ; when Pope Julius II became aware of it and transferred it to the Benedictine monks of the Abbazia di Praglia , the holy site must have been an important local pilgrimage site. Despite being handed over to the Benedictines, it was still inhabited and maintained by the previous local Marian Brotherhood and later by another brotherhood serving St. Rochus .
In 1510 (dating on the triumphal arch) the chapel was built, which today serves as a presbytery ; at this point in time an older church building already existed. The Gothic statue of the Virgin Mary from around 1350 presumably comes from the monastery in Praglia. The Confraternita di San Rocco provided the church with a statue of its own patron saint during the 17th century.
After the Napoleonic conquest of the Republic of Venice , as a result of which the monasteries were secularized, the Monte della Madonna was also abandoned and the sanctuary fell into disrepair. Benedictine monks did not return until the beginning of the 20th century. In the years 1909–1910 a new church building made of trachyte was built , which uses clearly recognizable relics of the previous building. The sanctuary was consecrated on June 6, 1942 by the Paduan Bishop Monsignor Carlo Agostini.
In 1965 and 1966 this new building was restored again. During this work, Venetian coins from the time of the Doges Giovanni Mocenigo (1478–85), Marco Barbarigo (1485–86) and Agostino Barbarigo (1486–1501) were found.
From 1966 to 1975 the cloister building with auditorium and library were renewed. Inside there is a small cloister with Mediterranean plants and a draw well based on a historical model.
The church forecourt with panoramic terrace was completely redesigned in the same period.
landscape
The north side is characterized by chestnut and locust forests. Traces of the damage caused by forest fires from the 1990s are still clearly visible. Downy oak , manna ash , strawberry tree , butcher's broom , wild asparagus, rock roses and tree heather also characterize the vegetation on Monte della Madonna. The small church of San Antonio Abate, which was built around 1300, is located on the slope.
On the south side, linden, beech and birch have grown back on the areas where forest fires once destroyed the chestnut forests.
The sanctuary today
In the apse of the chapel there is a late Gothic statue of the Virgin Mary from the 14th or early 15th century made of Veronese marble by an unknown master; it was erected in 1510 by the Benedictines and was presumably previously in Praglia. Some art historians link them to Andriolo de Santi , who lived until 1375 a. a. made sculptures for the cathedral in Padua , others with Jacobello dalle Masegne , one in Venice - u. a. in Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari - active sculptor who died in 1409. She holds the child in her left arm; in her right hand she may have originally carried a royal scepter (now reconstructed). She wears a polychrome robe with the typical folds of the soft style that falls loosely from her shoulders to her feet.
The square in front of the church ( Piazzale degli Alpini ) is dominated by a monument erected by the Padua Alpini Battalion in 1971 in honor of those who died in the mountain war of 1915–1918 in the Dolomites . The bronze statue of the Virgin Mary by A. Rollo (1941) stands on four stone blocks from the Monte Grappa massif, surrounded by cypresses. The Alpini have converted a projectile into a bell in honor of their comrades who died on the Three Peaks . Also from 1971 is a marble column in memory of two young pilots who crashed near the sanctuary on June 12, 1962.
Infrastructure
The approach to Monte Madonna is possible from Teolo on a steep, narrow and winding access road, but difficult due to the lack of alternative places and parking spaces and especially when the road is iced up in winter.
The regional park administration recommends access from Rovolon via the Sentiero della Madonna circular hiking trail , which starts in Via San Giorgio approx. 1 km behind the church and is accessible in two variants (4.7 km or 5.4 km). With a length of approx. 3–3.5 hours, the regional park administration classifies it as moderately difficult.
