Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

The sanctuary of Santa Maria dell'Aiuto was built in the 17th century. The church is so named because it contains an icon of the Virgin Mary, which is said to be miraculous. The icon was moved there after the destruction of the church of Santi Pietro e Paolo by the earthquake of 1693. In the 19th century, the façade was completed with the bell tower with clock.

The Sanctuary of St. Anthony was built in the 1930s in a sober Gothic style. Its facade is very particular, divided into three sectors with a central rose window and two lateral bell towers. The crosses above the three sectors are made of wrought iron and the two bell towers are characterized by arrows and high relief decorations.

It is known that the shrine of St. Joseph has existed at least since the 16th century. The building was enlarged and completely transformed between 1656 and 1660, and between 1719 and 1726. Many of its parts are incomplete due to periodic revisions and depletion of resources.

The sanctuary of the Madonna del Sasso was first known at the end of the 15th century, and we know that the first church was consecrated there in 1502. At the end of the 16th century the construction of a second church, located on top of the cliff, was started and consecrated in 1616. With the coronation of the Madonna del Sasso, which took place the following year, a whole series of works to embellish and complete the Sacred Mount began. In 1619 a road was opened on the crest of the hill, with some chapels dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary, and later on it would host the chapels of the Way of the Cross. Major works were undertaken between 1891 and 1912, the whole complex at the top of the sacred mountain was heavily remodelled. The convent was enlarged, the neo-Renaissance façade was rebuilt in 1892, in 1895 loggias and terraces were added on the eastern side and the bell tower was rebuilt.

The sanctuary of the Madonna di Monte Berico is the result of the combination of two churches built following plague epidemics in the city: the first church, in Gothic style, dates back to the 15th century. The second church was built in the Baroque style between 1688 and 1703. Monte Berico, on which the complex is located, attracted many pilgrims at the end of the 18th century after the development of the site. After the secularization of the annexed monastery between 1810 and 1835, the friars were able to recover the sanctuary.

The Church of the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Montecastello was built in the 17th century on the ruins of a castle or group of temples, whose existence dates back to the 9th century. Inside the church are the fresco "The Incoronazione della Vergine" by Giovanni Andrea Bertanza (1570-1630), the altarpiece "Madonna della Gloria e dei Misteri" by Bernardino Gandino and paintings by Andrea Celesti (1637-1712).

The ancient hermitage, the new hermitage, and a number of auxiliary buildings are arranged around an open rectangular patio at the sanctuary of the Virgen del Campo in Camarillas, in the Province of Teruel, Spain.

The sanctuaries of Lourdes are the largest Catholic pilgrimage centre in France. The origin of this pilgrimage goes back to the vision of Bernadette Soubirous, who declared that she had seen the Virgin eighteen times since 1858. The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary was built from 1883 to 1889 on the plans of Léopold Hardy and consecrated in 1901. The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception was consecrated in 1876; and the Basilica of Saint Pius X in 1958.

In a verdant environment in Tancrémont, between Pepinster and Banneux is this little chapel renowned for its large prominent cross, known as “Good Old God.»

The sand church in Nord-Odal is a long panelled church with small crosses and a tower to the west, built according to drawings by Günther Schüssler in 1891.