Pilgrimage and Marian devotion at the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of Grazie

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Don Giovanni Lucchi - Rector – Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of Grazie
The special bond that unites this sanctuary with the numerous pilgrims who visit throughout the year is the veneration of the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Lord and our Mother. It is she who has always drawn so many people to this place, precisely because this sanctuary, with its more than six centuries of history, has always been a place where people feel welcomed, heard, and often granted their prayers. Starting from the sanctuary itself—which is an ex voto built in gratitude for graces received—many other testimonies of graces granted are scattered throughout this place of prayer. Here, people can truly feel that devotion to Mary and entrusting themselves to her in critical moments of life is a trust well placed.
The madonnari who paint on the sanctuary’s forecourt on August 15 depict images either inspired by artistic works created by important artists of the past or original works of their own invention. For them, this is a way to express their personal union and prayer with the Lord, including through the Virgin Mary, offering the painting as a tribute to the Most Holy Virgin.
Don Stefano Savoia - Architect, Deputy Director – Cultural Heritage Office, Diocese of Mantua
Here in Grazie, on the day of the Assumption, August 15, a miracle happens every year: a large number of people gather, street artists meet, and merchants come together to celebrate this Marian dogma—the dogma of the Assumption—but above all, to reconnect the threads of popular Marian devotion. In this place, devotion to Mary reaches back almost a millennium. Even just before the year 1000, around that time, Marian devotion here was already documented, which later, with the sanctuary at the end of the 14th century, took on an institutional form.
Here in Grazie, we truly learn what the word “vow” or “ex voto” means: it is a promise, a solemn promise made to God. The building itself—the church, the sanctuary—as an architectural container is itself a great ex voto, built in gratitude for the end of the plague. Inside, there are also many ex votos: more refined or simpler works of art, devotional tablets, and, above all, the extraordinary complex of ex votos that is the wooden scaffold with a series of anatomical ex votos—that is, parts of the body representing a healing or a grace received: a leg, an eye, a heart. Each ex voto represents the fulfillment of a promise.

In the sanctuary, there is a mix of different levels: there are the great artists commissioned by the ruling families, the Gonzaga and the Castiglioni, but there are also ordinary artists who passed through here and, for a bowl of soup, created spontaneous works of art. This mix of different levels shows how, this year, it will once again be possible to see how learned, refined, theologically inspired art becomes accessible to everyone.
This year, for the first time, the sanctuary opens its doors to the Madonnari. Let us not forget that the Madonnari competition usually takes place in front of the forecourt in the large square, but this year, the Madonnari enter the sanctuary itself, proposing an initiative that blends the ephemeral art of the Madonnari—or street art, as it is now called—with the ex voto tradition, referencing the polymaterial scaffold, in a work of art that is at once ephemeral but will also endure.

For over six centuries, the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of Grazie has been a point of reference for Marian faith and devotion. Thousands of pilgrims visit throughout the year, drawn by the presence of Mary, Mother of the Lord and our Mother, finding welcome, listening, and comfort. The sanctuary itself, born as an ex voto in gratitude for graces received, houses numerous testimonies of devotion and thankfulness: votive tablets, works of art, and remarkable anatomical ex votos, tangible signs of graces granted.

A particularly significant moment is August 15, the day of the Assumption, when Grazie hosts a unique event that intertwines faith, tradition, and art: the gathering of the Madonnari. On the sanctuary’s forecourt, these street artists create extraordinary Marian images, born of creativity and spirituality, as a tribute to the Virgin. This ephemeral art becomes a form of prayer and, starting this year, also finds space inside the sanctuary, in dialogue with the history of the ex votos.

The sanctuary is therefore a place where popular spirituality, art, and historical memory merge, continuing to convey the value of faith, promise, and gratitude toward Mary, who for centuries has accompanied and supported the faithful.