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Church of the Crucifix in Nemi: the sanctuary with the miraculous sculpture
The Chiesa del Crocifisso is located in Nemi, in the Castelli Romani area, and is dedicated to the wooden Crucifix of 1669 made by Fra Vincenzo Pietrosanti da Bassiano. The sculpture, considered miraculous, is striking for its powerful realism, and hides a secret: a hollow in the back that also made it a reliquary. Tradition has it that the friar was unable to complete the face. But after days of fasting and penance, he found it had already been carved.
From Santa Maria di Versacarro to the Sanctuary of the Crucifix
The church was built between 1639 and 1645, commissioned by Marquis Mario Frangipane after the Capuchins left Nemi and moved to Genzano. Its original name was Santa Maria di Versacarro, named after the icon of the Madonna transferred here from a crumbling hermitage on the lakeshore. That icon — stolen in 2002 and recovered in Messina in 2006 — is now protected by a wrought-iron gate. But from 1669 onwards, popular devotion shifted entirely to the Crucifix, and with it the name of the church.
The interior and restoration work
The layout follows an inverted Latin cross plan. Between 1898 and 1899, the painter Eugenio Cisterna decorated the interiors, while architect Lorenzo M. de Rossi redesigned the façade. Numerous popes have visited the sanctuary: from Clement XI in 1711 to Benedict XVI in 2006. The ex-voto offerings along the walls — a small fraction of the originals — tell of centuries of pilgrimages and healings attributed to the Crucifix.
