Santuario di Santa Maria di Vena, Catholic shrine in Vena, Italy

Santuario di Santa Maria di Vena is a Catholic sanctuary in the hamlet of Vena, part of Piedimonte Etneo, on the eastern slope of Mount Etna. The present building was completed in 1930; of the older monastery only the icon of the Madonna survives. The icon is painted on a cedar of Lebanon panel 170 cm high and 67 cm wide, 3 cm thick, and bears the Latin inscription "Sancta Maria, Vena omnium gratiarum, ora pro nobis". Beside the church flows the water vein traditionally linked to the founding legend.

Tradition attributes the foundation to Pope Gregory I: around 575-580 a mule carrying an icon of the Madonna Glykophilousa from Mascali stopped and struck water, and in 597 Gregory had a Basilian monastery built here, dedicated to Saint Andrew and called "Sant'Andrea sopra Mascali". The monastery was probably abandoned after the 1169 earthquake and eruption; a "Badia di Vena" is recorded from the 16th century, its lands were granted in perpetual emphyteusis in 1797-1798, and the abbey was suppressed in 1867. The present sanctuary was completed in 1930.

The shrine serves as a place of Marian devotion where visitors and locals come to pray and drink from the spring water that communities have used for generations. The chapel itself functions as a quiet destination for personal reflection, particularly for people living in the surrounding areas.

Visits are possible year-round, with the route passing through natural forest that is easily walkable on foot. Bring comfortable shoes and prepare for mountain conditions at this elevation.

Local legend tells that a mule carrying a sacred icon struck the ground with its hooves and caused a spring to emerge. This event reportedly gave the place its name Vena, which refers to the water vein that appeared.