About 20 miles northeast of Verona, and 10 miles west of Lake Garda, the Voyager will discover the Santuario Madonna della Corona clinging to its precarious perch on Monte Baldo. Medieval documents tell us that around the 11th century, hermit monks from nearby Abbey di St Zeno in Verona lived on the mountain. In the 13th century, a monastery and chapel were dedicated to St Mary of Montebaldo. The Sanctuary of the Madonna of Corona dates from 1522, although some put the date 200 years earlier.
Many trek up to the Sanctuary beginning at the small village of Brentino in the valley below, starting off on the Via Santuario, a long path and stairway carved out of the mountain. The trek rises 1800 feet with over 1500 steps to climb. There are those that still climb this as a pilgrimage but make no mistake, this is a rugged mountain path suited for the very fit. If you decide to visit and make the climb up to the Sanctuary, it will take you 2 hours up and another hour and a half coming back down.
For the less able, the Sanctuary is also accessible by a paved road from the village of Spiazzi on top of the mountain. The road is accessible by foot and enters the site through a tunnel dug into the rock in 1922.
Many trek up to the Sanctuary beginning at the small village of Brentino in the valley below, starting off on the Via Santuario, a long path and stairway carved out of the mountain. The trek rises 1800 feet with over 1500 steps to climb. There are those that still climb this as a pilgrimage but make no mistake, this is a rugged mountain path suited for the very fit. If you decide to visit and make the climb up to the Sanctuary, it will take you 2 hours up and another hour and a half coming back down.
For the less able, the Sanctuary is also accessible by a paved road from the village of Spiazzi on top of the mountain. The road is accessible by foot and enters the site through a tunnel dug into the rock in 1922.
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 | This remarkable church was lovingly taken down and then rebuilt in recent times. It is still a popular pilgrimage site for visitors coming to see the Scala Santa, a replica of the scale used to weigh Jesus before he was crucified. In the recesses of the modern shrine there is a fourteenth century painting of Our Lady and the Child Jesus and a Pieta statue made in the 14th century. In addition, on the right wall of the chapel there is a wonderful display of ex voto (offerings) in thanks for various miracles granted to believers. The 167 tablets are in varied sizes, some dating back to 1547. Along the road from Spiazzi there are fourteen life-sized Stations of the Cross in bronze. |
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