The Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Holy Rosary is a

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

in Fontanellato,

Province of Parma The Province of Parma ( it, Provincia di Parma) is a province in the Emilia–Romagna region of Italy. Its largest town and capital is the city of Parma. It is made up of 47 ''comuni''. It has an area of and a total population of around 450,000 ...

, northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. One can see the

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

of the sanctuary near the Fidenza gate of the A1 autostrada. It is about west of

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

History

In 1512, Veronica da Correggio founded a Dominican monastery in Fontanellato. A brotherhood dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary and a chapel were established in the monastery church in the second half of the sixteenth century. In 1641, construction of a larger church began; it was inaugurated on 18 August 1660 with the coronation of the statue by the

Bishop of Fidenza The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fidenza ( la, Dioecesis Fidentina) in the Province of Parma, Italy, was until 1927 named the Diocese of Borgo San Donnino. It is now a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Modena-Nonantola, though historicall ...

Alessandro Pallavicini. The front was completed in 1680. Construction of a new convent began in 1672. In 1769,

Ferdinand, Duke of Parma Ferdinand I (''Ferdinando Maria Filippo Lodovico Sebastiano Francesco Giacomo''; 20 January 1751 – 9 October 1802) was Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla from his father's death on 18 July 1765 until he ceded the duchy to France by the Trea ...

took the sanctuary to the Dominicans who were then reassigned in 1775. With the suppression of religious orders, by

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

in 1805, the convent became the school of the Canossians Sisters and the Boys' School of St. Stephen, named "''Corpo dell'Industria''". In 1816,

Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma french: Marie-Louise-Léopoldine-Françoise-Thérèse-Josèphe-Lucie it, Maria Luigia Leopoldina Francesca Teresa Giuseppa Lucia , house = Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Maria Theresa of ...

, granted the convent to Dominican sisters of Colorno. The monastery was restored in 1822 and the church in 1858–1860. With the suppression of religious orders in 1866 the building of the convent passed to the municipality, from which it was given-back to Dominicans in 1879. In August 1903,

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Pius X elevated the church to the rank of

.''Catholic.org Basilicas in Italy''
/ref> In the years 1913–1920 a new monumental neo-baroque facade was replaced by the architect Lamberto Cusani, joined by an orphanage, opened in 1925. In the same year it was placed in front of sanctuary of a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

statue of blessed

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

Andrea Carlo Ferrari, by sculptor Amleto Cataldi. The orphanage during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

was used as a prison and school for officials-soldiers. It was bombed by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

, reopened in 1948 and closed in 1982. In 1965, an access road to the shrine opened; it includes a portico. In 1978 the monastery was equipped with an internal cloister.

The structure

The church has a form of

Latin cross A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...

, with a single nave with four chapels. It also has a transept and a small choir area. The paintings are located on the altars of seven chapels, and a wooden crucifix is in the eighth chapel. They were built in 1663. The facade of 1680 hosts four marble statues (

Saint Dominic Saint Dominic ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientis ...

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

, Saint Rose of Lima and

Saint Louis Bertrand Louis Bertrand ( es, Luis Beltrán, Luis Bertrán; ca, Lluís Bertran; 1 January 1526 – 9 October 1581) was a Spanish Dominican friar who preached in South America during the 16th century, and is known as the "Apostle to the Americas". He is v ...

). There are some

ex-voto An ex-voto is a votive offering to a saint or to a divinity; the term is usually restricted to Christian examples. It is given in fulfillment of a vow (hence the Latin term, short for ''ex voto suscepto'', "from the vow made") or in gratitude o ...

in the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

of sanctuary, in the gallery of the graces received. Since 1699 in the sanctuary there are two

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

keyboards. They are used to perform concerts and solemn masses. The organists, as of ????, are father Daniele Mazzoleni, Roberto Marchesi, and Leonardo Pontremoli.

References

External links

Official Web Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanctuary of Beata Vergine del Santo Rosario Roman Catholic churches completed in 1660 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Shrines to the Virgin Mary Catholic architecture Baroque architecture in Emilia-Romagna Roman Catholic shrines 1660 establishments in Italy Basilica churches in Emilia-Romagna