The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie is among the oldest in the district in Montefiascone.
It is located a short distance from the Basilica of San Flaviano along the Via Francigena in a square dedicated to the Madonna that has a statue on a high column completed in 1954.
Originally it was connected to a hospital to accommodate the pilgrims who were going to Rome to the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle and the first records date back to 1333.
After a period of decline, in 1492 it was rebuilt by the community of Montefiascone and in its shape and structure we can recognize the different architectural styles.
The façade today is set back from two neighbouring buildings and has a simple style with white plaster and local stone profiles. The second level is separated by a string course and each level is characterized by a large opening while the central door has a decoration with a triangular tympanum.
The interior has a Latin cross plan with an elegant dome and the central nave has two niches with medieval frescoes, while the rest of the church has baroque decorations.
The imposing high altar dates back to the seventeenth century and frames the fourteenth-century fresco of the Madonna delle Grazie from which the church takes its name.
The fresco was part of the original chapel and was detached and inserted into the altar in 1695 during modernization works.
The two arms of the church also end with highly decorated baroque altars.
Other frescoes to be appreciated are a San Sebastiano and San Rocco dating back to the fifteenth century and frescoes of San Nicola di Bari, San Matteo, San Bernardino of Siena built in the sixteenth century and located in the niche of the left wall of the central nave.
In the niche of the right wall there are frescoes of the late fifteenth century that represent a Madonna enthroned with Child between St. Anthony of Padua, St. Luke, St. Monaco and San Lorenzo.
Follow us