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The Church of San Rocco in Monterotondo: The Sanctuary That Held Back the Plague of 1656
A short distance from Porta Garibaldi, just outside the walls of Monterotondo, the Church of San Rocco houses one of the most venerated Marian images in the area: the Madonna del Diluvio delle Grazie. The small church dates from the second half of the 16th century, built on a site where a votive shrine dedicated to the patron saint of plague victims already stood. Alongside it, slightly lower down, the Oratory today houses the parish Caritas.
A Painting and a Legend
A 15th-century painting of the Madonna and Child dominates the high altar, framed by a gilded mosaic. For centuries the people of Monterotondo have invoked her against epidemics, earthquakes, and invasions. The name — "Diluvio delle Grazie" (Flood of Graces) — is explained by the miracles attributed to her. One in particular has remained in local memory: in 1656, the plague ravaged Rome and the Papal States, yet Monterotondo emerged unscathed while the neighbouring town of Mentana was severely struck. Tradition recounts that a conventual friar received a vision of the Virgin and Saint Roch repelling the pestilence at the gates of the town.
Official Recognition
In 1765, the Vatican Chapter placed gold crowns on the heads of the Madonna and Child — an honour reserved for images deemed miraculous following a formal canonical inquiry. Those crowns were stolen during the Garibaldian campaign of 1867; the townspeople donated new ones.
