The Sanctuary of Santa Maria infra Saxa and the so-called Tempio di Valadier are two sanctuaries and chapel located at the entrance of the

Frasassi Caves The Frasassi Caves (Italian language, Italian: ''Grotte di Frasassi'') are a Karst topography, karst cave system in the municipality of Genga, Italy, in the province of Ancona, Marche. They are among the most famous show caves in Italy. History ...

, a remarkable

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

cave system in the municipality of Genga, in the

province of Ancona The province of Ancona () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Marche region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Ancona, and the province borders the Adriatic Sea. The city of Ancona is also the capital of Marche. To the north, the province ...

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

, Italy.

The sanctuary and chapel are located within a few dozen meters of each other, on a ledge entrance to the Frasassi cave system. The sanctuary is ancient; it is cited in documents from 1029. It is a simple stone structure built by

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monks to house a burned image of the Madonna. A ''Tempietto'' or small octagonal temple on the site was first proposed in 1817 by the future

Pope Leo XII Pope Leo XII (; born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiorre Girolamo Nicola della Genga; 2 August 1760 – 10 February 1829) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 28 September 1823 to his death in February 1829. ...

, who was originally from Genga. The white travertine structure, completed in 1827 after Leo had become pope, was long thought to have been designed by

Giuseppe Valadier Giuseppe Valadier (April 14, 1762 – February 1, 1839) was an Italian architect and designer, urban planner and archaeologist and a chief exponent of Neoclassicism in Italy. A teacher of architecture at the Accademia di San Luca, Valadier was a ...

, and is still widely referred to as the "Tempio di Valadier". However, in 2016 a study of previously unexamined archives by Maria Cristina Cavola revealed that Valadier had absolutely nothing to do with the building: it was rather an accretive design to which a series of local architects and project managers made successive contributions. The chapel once housed a marble statue of the ''Madonna and child'' by the studio of

Antonio Canova Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italians, Italian Neoclassical sculpture, Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was ins ...

. The statue is now in the civic museum of Genga, and been substituted by a copy. When the Tempietto was built, a number of remains of skeletons were found in the opening of the cave.Frasassi Caves
official site.

References

11th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1828 Octagonal churches in Italy Neoclassical architecture in le Marche Churches in the Province of Ancona Roman Catholic churches in the Marche Neoclassical church buildings in Italy {{Marche-RC-church-stub