Nostra Signora della Rosa, Minor basilica and shrine in Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy
Nostra Signora della Rosa is a baroque church on Piazza Caprera in Santa Margherita Ligure, built from 1658 to a design by Giovanni Battista Ghiso. It has a Latin-cross plan with three naves divided by columns and a dome; the facade, reworked by Carlo Orsolino, carries paired columns and stucco statues of Saints Peter and Paul in side niches. The forecourt of black and white pebbles was laid in 1975 in the Ligurian risseu technique.
The first stone of the present church was laid in 1658 on the site of a 13th-century place of worship. The parish, suppressed and merged into San Siro, was re-established in 1646 by Cardinal Stefano Durazzo. In 1666 it became an archpriesthood under Cardinal Stefano Spinola, and it was consecrated on 23 September 1770 by Archbishop Giovanni Lercari, as a marble plaque above the main portal records. Pope Pius XII granted it the title of minor basilica on 26 January 1951.
The venerated image is a wooden group of the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child on her left arm and a rose in her right hand, brought to the village by sailors in the Middle Ages. Since 25 February 1756 it has stood in a marble tabernacle above the main altar. Each year on the fifth Sunday after Easter, roses brought by residents are blessed.
The church stands on Piazza Caprera, and its forecourt of black and white pebbles was laid in 1975 using the Ligurian risseu technique. The main portal faces east, with the 1750 bell tower on the right and the 1920 tower on the left. The patronal feast of Saint Margaret is held on 20 July with a procession through the historic centre.
During the 1672 demolition for the church's enlargement, a large water-filled basin was found beneath the main altar, said to smell of roses. It was walled up under the marble presbytery floor, and locals credited it with miraculous powers, especially the healing of children.
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