Santuario della Madonna del Ponte, Religious sanctuary on SP 63 in Partinico, Italy

The Santuario della Madonna del Ponte is a church and shrine in Partinico, Sicily, built with three naves whose vaults rest on decorated stucco columns. A painting by Vincenzo Manno, completed in 1819, hangs above the main altar inside.

In 1306 King Frederick III of Sicily gave lands near Altofonte to the Cistercians to build an abbey; three years later he added the lands of the Partinico park, devastated by Saracen raids, and the abbots began rebuilding the town around 1430. A group of monks settled in the woods to administer the estate and educate the new settlers. Abbot Pietro Guzio began restoring a small church so the king could attend mass while hunting there; in 1774 it was enlarged with three naves and four stucco columns.

In the week after Easter, from Thursday to Saturday, pilgrims from Partinico, Balestrate, Trappeto and Alcamo walk with lit torches toward the sanctuary, not through the town streets. On Sunday at noon the painting leaves on a vara and reaches Partinico in the evening, where it is carried through the streets before resting in the Mother Church until November.

The sanctuary sits along the SP 63 road and is reached by taking the Balestrate exit from the A29 motorway. The road leading there is easy to follow and the site has no particular access difficulty.

The painting by Vincenzo Manno shows the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child together with Saints Peter and Paul, and below them appears a depiction of the Jato river bridge. This detail connects a sacred scene directly to a specific local landmark.