The pilgrimage church of Madonna del Sangue

The sanctuary of the Madonna del Sangue di Re, which can be seen clearly from the train, stands out imposingly, dominating the plain below.

Legend has it that in 1494 a small fresco of the“Madonna del latte” was struck by a stone and began to bleed, giving rise to local devotion to the Wounded Madonna, now venerated in the cathedral of Santa Croce. The Re sanctuary attracts thousands of pilgrims every year.

The pilgrimage site consists of two buildings that are connected with one another. These are the small church of St. Maurice and the basilica with its thirty colourful stained-glass windows which plunge the interior into an enchanting play of light all day long.

The spacious crypt with its 200 seats is a chapel of reconciliation. In the pilgrimage church and the adjacent museum, more than 300 ex-voto are preserved on canvas. These portray the grace received by the devout from 1658 up to the present.