Sanctuary of Madonna of Miracles

Sanctuary of Madonna of Miracles
Santuario della Madonna dei Miracoli (Alcamo)
Façade of the sanctuary of Madonna of Miracles
Basic information
Location	Alcamo, Trapani, Italy
Geographic coordinates	37°59′05″N 12°58′00″E / 37.984770°N 12.966656°E / 37.984770; 12.966656Coordinates: 37°59′05″N 12°58′00″E / 37.984770°N 12.966656°E / 37.984770; 12.966656
Territory	Alcamo
State	Italy
Province	Trapani
Region	Sicily
Country	Italy
Architectural style	Baroque-Renaissance style

The Sanctuary of Madonna of Miracles is a church in Alcamo, province of Trapani, Sicily, southern Italy; it is dedicated to the Madonna of the Miracles (the patron saint of Alcamo).

The sanctuary was built in 1547 by order of the governor and captain of justice of Alcamo Fernando Vega and following the discovery of an icon of Madonna of Miracles in a small chapel which was abandoned. Afterwards the sanctuary was modified several times, with a restoration in the first years of the 18th century.

In 1754 it was aggregated to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore of Rome; in 1784 there was the solemn coronation of Our Lady of Miracles. In 1901 they founded here the pious congregation Le predilette di Maria.

In 2015, in connection with the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, the sanctuary was proclaimed "Holy Door" of Alcamo, together with the Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption.

You can reach the sanctuary through a downhill pebbled footpath which leads to a large flight of steps near the church. The sanctuary, in a Baroque-Renaissance style, has got two façades with two different portals. On the main façade, opposite the footpath, there is a jut window surrounded by two smaller ones.

The interior of the sanctuary has a single nave with 8 altars, there are also some stuccoes by Nicolò Curti made in 1762.

On the vault of the sanctuary there is a fresco representing the glorification of Our Lady of Miracles, while in the apse there is a second fresco with the apparition of Our Lady of Miracles to a group of women, and a third one with the founding of Our Lady of Miracles. These three works were realized in 1947 by Alessandro Abate, a painter from Catania.