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On top of Cantalice: Chiesa della Madonna delle Grazie and the miraculous holm oak
Perched on a rocky spur that commands a view of the entire village, the Church of the Madonna delle Grazie is one of the oldest parish churches in Cantalice, a medieval village nestled on the slopes of Monte Terminillo in the Province of Rieti. It is here, according to tradition, that a holm oak grew miraculously from the rock behind the sacristy. And it is from the Latin cata ilex ("beside the holm oak") that the name of the village is said to derive.
The statue found in the grotto
Inside the church, an ancient wooden statue of the Virgin Mary is venerated by the faithful. Legend has it that a shepherd discovered it in a grotto. The sculpture is carried in procession on the Sunday after Easter, when the people of Cantalice - including those who have emigrated - return for the feast. In 1869, the Confraternity of the Madonna delle Grazie was established; it remains active today with over 150 members, who accompany the Virgin through the streets of the village.
An interior that reflects the celestial vault
The church has a single nave and a segmental barrel vault. On the ceiling, a tondo decorated with lilies and ribbons bears the words of the Hymn to the Virgin; at its centre, the Marian monogram. The stained-glass windows - the Annunciation above the portal, and Saints Felix, Gregory and Andrew on the side walls - cast coloured light that transforms the simple interior into an intimate and evocative space.
Currently accessible only from the outside, owing to structural damage sustained in the 2016 earthquake. Cantalice is 11 km from Rieti along the Way of Saint Francis (Cammino di Francesco).
