Madonna della Stella, Catholic church and shrine in Montefalco, Italy
Madonna della Stella is a Catholic church and shrine on the edge of Montefalco, a small hilltop town in Umbria, Italy. The building was built in a neoclassical style and features a tall, slender bell tower with eight columns and a small dome.
The first church on this site was built in 1525 but was nearly destroyed by an earthquake in 1832, leaving only a fresco of the Madonna and Child by Paolo Botulli. A new church was later built following reports of visions in 1860, and the Passionist Fathers took over its care in 1878.
Every year on September 8, the town of Montefalco celebrates the Madonna with a street procession and evening festivities. In the week before, the statue visits several local parishes before returning to the sanctuary for the main celebration.
The sanctuary sits just outside the center of Montefalco and is easy to reach on foot from the main square. Visiting outside of Mass times gives you the space to look around the interior without interruption.
The only object to survive the 1832 earthquake was a fresco of the Madonna and Child, which is still visible above the altar today. This painting is the oldest visible link between the current building and the original 16th-century church.
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