Nostra Signora di Valverde, Catholic shrine in Alghero, Italy.
Nostra Signora di Valverde is a shrine located seven kilometers from Alghero at the base of a rocky ridge. The interior features a marble altar and religious paintings displayed against the natural backdrop of the surrounding landscape.
The shrine was first documented in the 1400s as Santa Maria di Valverde and received its current structure during the 1600s. The painter Pantaleo Calvi decorated the altars during this renovation period.
The terracotta statue of the Madonna with Child sits at the heart of worship here, drawing pilgrims who come with personal prayers and requests. Visitors leave votive offerings as tangible expressions of their faith and gratitude.
The site is best visited during the pilgrimage season, which begins after Easter and peaks in early June. It is accessible to visitors of all ages, and there is specialized support available for less mobile pilgrims.
The wooden statue carried in procession is not the oldest image: the fifteenth-century terracotta Madonna, about 40 cm high and of Tuscan make, is kept in a marble aedicule niche low on the high altar, beneath the sixteenth-century Madonna della Freccia. Popular tradition says it was buried at the foot of a column near the Pilar chapel to save it from Saracen pirates.
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