The Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church and

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

convent located in the frazione of Ponticelli within the town limits of

Scandriglia Scandriglia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rieti in the Italian region Latium, located about northeast of Rome and about south of Rieti. In the frazione of Ponticelli Sabino, is located the Franciscan convent and sanctuary of ...

, province of Rieti, region of

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Italy. It is presently still a Franciscan monastery, with support of the ''Fondo Edifici di Culto'' of the Interior Ministry.

History and description

The convent was completed in 1478 under the patronage of Raimondo Orsini, Duke of Gravina and Count of Neroli, in gratitude for the recuperation of his ill son by interventions of the franciscan blessed Amadeo Menezes de Sylva. Located in Ponticelli Sabino, the place was also chosen due to the presence of a venerated 15th-century icon of the Madonna and child (Santa Maria delle Grazie), derived from the nearby Castello di Neroli. For a convent under Amedeo, Orsini obtained recognition by Pope

Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...

in 1478. In 1568, the "Amedeite" friars were suppressed, and the convent incorporated friars from the main order in Rome. The convent was suppressed in 1810, and again in 1860. It suffered from an earthquake in 1826. In 1882, the property was ceded to the commune and sold. The church was deconsecrated in 1888 to 1891. It was looted by the Garibaldini in 1867.Comuni di Alta Sabina
/ref> The single nave is spanned by

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

arches. The interior shelters the 14th-century venerated icon of the Madonna and child. In the refectory is a fresco of the Crucifixion attribute to

Lorenzo da Viterbo Lorenzo da Viterbo was, together with Antoniazzo Romano, the greatest native painter of the early Renaissance (second half of the fifteenth century) in the region of Rome. He was probably educated in Rome under Piero della Francesca (frescoes ...

. The adjacent cloister has been extensively restored.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria delle Grazie Scandriglia Roman Catholic churches in Lazio Churches in the province of Rieti