Sanctuary of the Madonna dell'Acero

From the sanctuary to the waterfall, the path is within everyone's reach ... easy and shady in the summer so it is highly recommended 🏞️💙

One of the most beautiful paths that can be done in this area of the Apennines. If done in a complete manner it is a very, very challenging circular route, over 18km and 1000 meters of altitude difference with some sections with very steep slopes, near the cross there are very exposed areas where attention is required. Therefore avoid in the presence of strong winds or in any case unfavorable weather situations.

Madonna dell’Acero, a charming place surrounded by immense forests of beech and fir trees, located at an altitude of 1200 meters above sea level.The name of the place derives from an old print with the image of the Blessed Virgin dressed in Greek style, affixed to the trunk of a tree located in a clearing in the 14th century.Legend has it that two deaf-mute children, while they were busy guarding their flock at pasture, were caught in a storm and found refuge under an enormous maple tree.During the raging bad weather, the Madonna appeared and made them regain their hearing and speech. At home they reported that the Virgin wanted to be venerated in that place.The parish priest of Rocca Corneta, informed of the apparition, thought of transporting the image to the parish and celebrating the event in the presence of the Bishop. But on the day scheduled for the celebrations the sacred image had disappeared. The Madonna, the locals say, had returned to the Maple, leaving signs of herself on all the tree trunks along the road.It is also said that the marked trees could not be cut down: a man, who wanted to try to cut down one, located in his chestnut grove, was crushed under the branches of the tree.A small chapel thus arose around the Maple that enclosed the tree stripped of all its branches.The current suggestive sanctuary, built in a very simple style, like a group of small houses next to each other, dates back to the 16th and 17th centuries.