Santuario Madonna di Lourdes, Religious sanctuary in Verona, Italy

The Santuario Madonna di Lourdes occupies the site of Forte San Leonardo, an Austrian fort begun in 1838 under Major General Franz von Scholl on the highest hill above Verona, near the Romanesque church of San Leonardo. The fort's rounded, two-storey casemated keep was raised and capped with a truncated conical dome on a tall drum, while the merlons of the main front and the counterscarp wall in polygonal tuff blocks remain.

The sanctuary was built in 1958 to replace an earlier structure that was damaged during World War II. The only piece that survived from the original site is the Immaculate statue made by sculptor Ugo Zannoni.

The sanctuary occupies the site of the Austrian Fort San Leonardo, built in 1838 under Major General Franz von Scholl. The fort's rounded keep was raised and topped with a truncated conical dome on a tall drum, so the church now stands as the highest structure on the hill above Avesa. The Romanesque church of San Leonardo stands nearby.

The sanctuary stands on the highest hill north-west of Verona, near the Romanesque church of San Leonardo, above the Avesa valley. Access is on foot or by road up the hill; the former Austrian fort's dry ditch and counter-scarp wall still shape the ground around the church.

The sanctuary was built directly on top of the former Austrian Fort San Leonardo, which once served as a military stronghold overlooking the city. The terrace in front of the entrance offers the same open view over Verona's rooftops that soldiers from the garrison once had.