8Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Crown, Verona
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This sanctuary is located on Mount Baldo in the province of Verona. It offers impressive views from there. The devotion to this Virgin is very important in the province. Most tourists come to Verona, in northern Italy, to admire the world-famous balcony featured in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. But not many visitors know that a few kilometers north of Verona is one of the most unique churches in Europe. The “Santuario della Madonna della Corona”, literally the Sanctuary of Maria de la Corona, was built in 1530, carved out of the rock of Mount Baldo in the Gerdenes Alps. This church clinging to the cliff above Lake Garda, seems to be suspended in the air. The origins of the Monte Baldo Church, as the locals call it, date back to the 14th century, when natural cave formations began to attract holy men seeking to spend periods of reflection and prayer. In 1530, when the first structure of the current church was built, it could only be reached by a small passage that hung by the cliff. For a long time, only the most adventurous believers dared to come to church. In fact, one of the local nobles decided to mark his dedication to the difficult-to-access church by leaving a 70 cm tall stone statue that still bears his family’s name. For the past 500 years, locals have tried to make this seemingly suspended church more accessible. Click the next ARROW to see the next photo!
