Draft:The sanctuary of Santa Maria dell'Acquasanta

The Sanctuary of Santa Maria dell'Acquasanta or dell'Acqua Santa  (known over the centuries also as Santa Maria dell'Orto,  Santa Maria d'Ammonte or Madonna del Sasso as well)  is a catholic marian place of worship in the city of Marino, in the area of the Castelli Romani, in the metropolitan city of Rome Capital and suburban see of Albano. Currently, it is included in the parish of the basilica di San Barnaba.

History
"The people of Marino, men and women of faith, 'read' the spring in the midst of the peperino rock as a sign of God's benevolence to their City, granted through the intercession of Mary, and they considered it a source of miraculous and holy water."

The image of the Madonna was likely created between the 4th and 9th centuries, according to popular tradition dating back to the 6th century, as suggested by the techniques observed during the latest restoration of the painting and the fact that its measurements can be easily calculated in Roman feet[7] Later, the image was repainted between the 12th and 14th centuries[7] and partially altered around the 16th century[8], and finally in the 18th century when the orientation of the image was adjusted to match the orientation of the altar.[8]

The veneration of the image began when it was placed in an outdoor roadside shrine, along the former public road that led to Castel Gandolfo and Albano Laziale, corresponding to the current Via Antonio Fratti.[7] The image was connected to the settlement by a staircase of thirty-four steps carved into the peperino rock, which allowed avoiding the steep bend in the road and is still visible today at the back of the sanctuary.[7] The veneration of the image is also associated with a miraculous event reported in popular tradition: it is said that a man, while riding on horseback along the Via Maremmana Inferiore towards Castel Gandolfo and Albano Laziale, lost control of the animal in the road's winding turns and was at risk of falling into the abyss if the Madonna had not intervened to save him.[8] In the following centuries, other miracles were attributed to the Madonna dell'Acquasanta: in August 1883, the high prelate Pietro Rota,[9] Archbishop of Carthage and regular canon of the Basilica of St. Peter in Vatican City, had an ex-voto made to Mary to thank her for saving him from a dangerous horseback fall on the steep paths overlooking Lake Albano;[10] and many other episodes,[10] some of them quite serious. The roadside shrine was visited in the summer of 1260 or in the early 1270s by Saint Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, the cardinal bishop of the suburban diocese of Albano from 1270 to 1274. Absorbed in prayer before the Marian image, he was inspired to found the Archconfraternity of the Gonfalone of Marino.

In the sixteenth century, the roadside shrine was likely incorporated into the initial nucleus of the sanctuary. The 1566 land registry of the Colonna family, who owned properties in Marino, mentions a "church" dedicated to the Madonna in a devout location. During the seventeenth century, the rectory situated above the church was also built, as three hermits were reported to be residing there in 1682. The final appearance of the interior of the sanctuary was determined by the work carried out between 1693 and 1720. The entire single-nave building is carved into the peperino rock and exhibits remnants of plaster and ribbing.

The Rococo altar was already constructed in 1759, while two Calabrian priests, Giovanni Andrea and Nicola Fico, financed the construction of the side altar of the Most Holy Crucifix in 1788. This altar was later used by the Secular Franciscan Order, as indicated by the coat of arms affixed to it. In 1792, the same two Calabrian priests once again provided funding for the sanctuary, completing the additional two floors of the rectory tower and constructing a small sail-like bell tower above it.

The current appearance of the sanctuary's façade is the result of the interventions financed in 1819 by Francesco Fumasoni Biondi and commissioned to the architect Matteo Lovatti, who created one of his most celebrated and successful works here. Between 1823 and 1824, Massimo d'Azeglio, who was residing in Marino at that time, executed a commissioned painting decoration in the church for Fumasoni Biondi, which is now lost.

In 1926, the noble Riccardo Tuccimei, the lessee of the sanctuary, which was owned by the chapter of the collegiate basilica of San Barnaba, decided to demolish the church's bell tower. Despite being contested by the municipality and the "Società dell'Acqua Santa," the decision was carried out.

In the 1980s, the sacred image underwent a restoration led by architect Vincenzo Antonelli, resulting in significant historical and artistic achievements.

The façade and narthex
The façade and narthex of the sanctuary were built in 1819 by the architect Matteo Lovatti, who was also active during the same period in Velletri and Albano Laziale. For his artistic merits, Lovatti was awarded the Order of Saint Sylvester by Pope Pius VII. The funding for the construction came from Canon Francesco Fumasoni Biondi, a regular canon of the Basilica of San Barnaba.

The neoclassical façade is entirely made of peperino, with an "in antis" entrance (defined by two Tuscan columns) supporting a molded architrave resting on a corbel that runs along the entire façade. The wrought iron gate that closes off the narthex from the outside was installed in 1865 and has now been replaced with a glass window. On the entablature of the façade, the following inscription can be read:

The interior of the narthex is plain and elevated by three steps compared to the street level (reduced to a single step after the paving of the sanctuary square with sanpietrini stones at the beginning of the 20th century). The inner portal of the church, originally located directly outside, was built in the 18th century and features molded jambs and a centrally arched tympanum, which likely housed a coat of arms, as depicted in some prints and drawings.

The interior of the sanctuary
The interior of the sanctuary consists of a single nave, with the right side entirely excavated in peperino, to the extent that the only window is located on the left wall, above the altar of the Most Holy Crucifix, the only side altar in the church. The presence of ribbing suggests that the walls and vault were originally plastered, although currently, the rock is left exposed, with visible patches of dampness in some areas. The perimeter of the hall is crossed by a robust cornice.

On the right wall, there is a cut in the peperino, possibly an ancient aqueduct that served the nearby grotto next to the sanctuary. Some have hypothesized that the grotto could have been a Roman or pre-Roman sanctuary, located near the Bosco Ferentano dedicated to the indigenous Latin deity Ferentina.

On the left wall, there is a marble plaque installed by the Calabrian priests Giovanni Andrea and Nicola Fico in 1788 to commemorate their funding for the construction of the side altar of the Most Holy Crucifix. The inscription on the plaque reads as follows:

L'altare del Crocifisso, built at the end of the 18th century as a result of the devotion of the two Calabrian priests, does not possess notable architectural details, mainly due to various alterations over time. The Franciscan Secular Order, for example, placed its white marble emblem on a blue background in the oval of the pediment. Between 1823 and 1824, the same Canon Fumasoni Biondi who financed the construction of the facade donated a life-sized wooden crucifix to the altar. He also asked Massimo d'Azeglio, who was staying in Marino at the time, to create a painted frame for the sacred image. Interestingly, the painter, who would later become the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy, was assisted in his work by two brigands who had sought refuge in the sanctuary to escape arrest. This indicates that the sanctuary provided asylum for common criminals. Currently, both the crucifix and the fresco have been lost. The crucifix was probably transferred to the Basilica of San Barnaba before World War II and replaced with a medium-sized polychrome wooden crucifix from the 19th century. The historical researcher from Marino, Girolamo Torquati, believes that the sanctuary originally housed the Most Holy Crucifix of Marino, an image that began performing miracles in June 1635 and was later moved to the Church of the Holy Trinity, where it is still kept, by the religious congregation of the Minor Regular Clerics in June 1637.

The main altar, carved from a large block of isolated peperino, houses the image of the Virgin Mary framed by stucco festoons and volutes. It is surmounted by two broken pediments, in the center of which the Latin inscription reads: "apud Te est fons vitae - Psal XXXV" ("with You is the fountain of life," Psalm 35"). On the two pediments, there are two small statues depicting curly-haired children. In the center, a small round medallion representing God and the Holy Spirit symbolizes the Trinity in connection with the Baby Jesus below.

The sacristy
The access to the sacristy is provided by a recent bronze door created by the painter and sculptor from Marino, Stefano Piali (2005), depicting the miracle of the Madonna dell'Acquasanta. The peperino door jambs are ancient.

The sacristy is a rectangular room with a ceiling featuring a dome covered in stucco from the 18th century, now mostly damaged. Outside the sacristy, there is a small garden, which the scholar Vincenzo Antonelli hypothesizes to have been the "orchard" that gave the original name to the place of worship. Here, the staircase carved into the peperino is located, which served as the original access to the Marian image before the construction of the church.

The rectory tower
Above the church rises a two-story tower, already existing in the second half of the 16th century and raised in the late 18th century. At the top of the tower, there was a small sail-shaped bell tower, demolished in the 1920s. Of the two bells that were placed there, one has been lost, while the other is still used inside the sanctuary. Both bells were cast in 1792, thanks to the funding provided by the aforementioned Calabrian priests Giovanni Andrea and Nicola Fico.

On the wall of the tower facing Via Antonio Fratti, there is a commemorative inscription of the works carried out in the church on this occasion:

Related items

 * Centro di Marino
 * Quartiere Acquasanta
 * Barco Colonna