Santa Maria in Aula Regia, Comacchio, 17th-century Roman Catholic sanctuary in Comacchio, Italy.
Santa Maria in Aula Regia is a church in western Comacchio, also called the Church of the Cappuccini. Its neoclassical facade was built in 1888, while the present church dates from 1665. The interior has a single nave with side chapels holding paintings, and a loggia of 143 marble columns and arches, erected in 1647 by Cardinal Giovanni Stefano Donghi, links it to the town centre.
The site housed the Monastery of Santa Maria in Auregiario, documented between the 10th and 12th centuries. In 1570 Duke Alfonso II d'Este granted the property to the Capuchin order, who took over the church left without guidance. The present church was built in 1665, and on 26 September 1942 Bishop Natale Mosconi granted it the title of sanctuary.
The venerated image is a Renaissance-era terracotta statue of the Virgin, honoured by the people of Comacchio under the title Santa Maria in Aula Regia, which also names the sanctuary. The church is known locally as the Chiesa dei Cappuccini, recalling the Capuchin friars installed here in 1570.
The sanctuary stands in the western part of Comacchio, reached on foot from the centre along the loggia built in 1647 by Cardinal Giovanni Stefano Donghi, a covered walkway of 143 arches on marble columns linking it to the town centre. The church is also known as the Chiesa dei Cappuccini, so ask for that name locally.
The terra-cotta image at the heart of this sanctuary represents centuries of local artistic tradition and devotional practice. Few visitors notice the handcrafted details of this representation, which forms the spiritual focus of the entire building.
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