This small sanctuary of Madonna of the Snows dates from the late sixteenth century and is located in Rocca Priora, the city of snow.
It has a single nave with a coffered ceiling decorated with five arches that form part of their respective chapels.
On the main altar apse is a copy of the Snow Madonna venerated in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.
The facade of 1858 in brick and lava stone, has a neo-classical portal and a rosette with the monogram of the Virgin Mary.
Over the centuries the church has been expanded, enriched with furniture, with a sacristy and a large building to house pilgrims and groups.
Since 1860 it has been well maintained and guarded by the Pallottini Fathers.
The devotion to Our Lady, still deeply felt, goes back to the fact that since ancient times Rocca Priora was the main supplier of snow and ice in Rome.
Its inhabitants traded this valuable asset throughout the year, keeping the ice in wells sealed with hay.
Then they transported it with special carts to the capital "neviere", place to store ice in Rome.
A shortage of snow during the winter meant tightening their belts during the summer, hence the invocation to the Virgin's protection.
The town dedicates a feast to Our Lady of the Snow in late July and early August, culminating in the feature, an evening procession on the first Saturday of the month.
The feast is very popular and ends with an artificial snowfall.
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