The sanctuary of Madre della Grazie della Mentorella is an abbey served by the Congregation of the Polish Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ and was built in Roman times by the emperor Constantine and is therefore the oldest in Italy.
The emperor, according to Pope Sylvester I, had it built on the site of the conversion of Saint Eustace, the Christian name of a Roman general named Placidus who had converted.
Here passed St. Benedict, who lived two years in a cave and then the sanctuary came under the control of the Abbey of Subiaco until the fourteenth century.
After a prosperous period, the monastery was abandoned from 984 and its rebirth is due to the Jesuit Athanasius Kircher who between 1665 and 1680 restored it thanks to the contributions of European sovereigns.
The remains of the Jesuit are still in the monastery.
The shrine is dedicated to Our Lady and is located at 1020 meters on a spur of Mount Guadagnolo and consists of a convent, a church, a chapel, accessed from a Scala Santa, and a small cemetery.
Its name comes from a medieval watchtower, Morella Tower, or the General Wult of the Goths who had converted to Christianity.
The church has a simple façade with a niche with a small rose window above the main entrance.
Inside, the church is divided into three naves and initially was completely frescoed although today all that is visible is a small part of the complete work.
Above the altar there is a ciborium that protects the wooden statue of the Madonna with child dating back to the thirteenth century.
And 'one of the most famous statues in the region and today can be seen in its original form after a restoration eliminated the decoration that had been added in 1887.
Another work is a fine painted wooden table narrating the conversion of the general Placido and the consecration of the sanctuary.
It is believed that this table is from a previous building and, according to some historians, it was a part of a front door of an earlier church.
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