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Church of the Madonna del Soccorso

[image ALT: A fortress-like 3‑story brick church, windowless on the ground floor, with only one medium-sized rectangular window on the second floor; it is surmounted by a small two-arch flat belfry of the type known as a 'campanile a vela' and a much larger squat octagonal tower capped by a small lantern. It is a front view of the Santuario della Madonna del Soccorso near Magione, Umbria (central Italy).]

For a closeup of the cupola, see my diary, Mar. 7, 2004.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help — in Italian, la Madonna del Soccorso — had a chapel in this spot in the Middle Ages, attracting the devotion of pilgrims, and eventually the small settlement we see here today. After a number of miracles, the present church was built in the first half of the 18c, taking the form of a Greek cross, by then a fairly typical disposition in Umbria. The original fresco of the Madonna, by an unknown painter, was preserved, and is now in a niche over the main altar of the new building: I have not seen it, but it is said to represent her in the customary manner, sheltering a crowd of faithful under her ample cloak.


An oddly accurate if impressionistic pedestrian's view of the façade; and, zooming in, the main door. As very often in rural Italy, the church was firmly closed when I passed thru Soccorso, and the key was with the priest in another town.

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