Santa Maria in Val D’Abisso Sanctuary

The Sanctuary of Santa Maria in Val d’Abisso stands on a hill to the south-east of the town of Piobbico, on the slopes of Monte Nerone and at the edge of the wild Infernaccio gorge. The first document mentioning this church dates back to 1603 and tells that the origin of the Sanctuary is thanks to the devotion of the local people towards an image of the Virgin that some shepherds and charcoal burners found somewhere on Monte Nerone.

The interior has a single nave in Romantic style with a trussed ceiling. In the ribbed apse you can admire a majolica crucifix, the work of Valerio Valeri; the panels of the Via Crucis are also his.

To the left of the main altar is a sixteenth-century fresco, depicting the Virgin with Child between St. Filippo Benizzi and Blessed Barbetta (to whom the Stele that stands halfway up the hill that leads to the church is also dedicated).

To the left of the entrance there is an arched chapel where the Sacred Image of the Madonna of Val d’Abisso is still venerated today. The painting is supported by a group of bronze angels, the work of the Roman sculptor Vincenzo Montrone. Further on you can see an elegant travertine column with the Felici coat of arms (cross with five stars) that was originally part of the altar of the Conception, built by Federico Giulio Felici in 1530. On this altar there is an image of the Madonna of the Rosary of the Baroque school.

On the right wall there is an altarpiece depicting the Assumption of the Virgin, by Raffaellino del Colle. By the same painter are the Saints Francis and Jerome, Saint Anthony the Abbot and Saint Sebastian. During the last restoration in 1960 three frescoes came to light, which depict the Baptism of Jesus and the Annunciation. Of the third, unfortunately, only a head of Saint Anthony remains.