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Sanctuary of the Madonna del Tufo in Rocca di Papa: the church born from a miracle
The Sanctuary of the Madonna del Tufo is located at the far end of Rocca di Papa, on the road going towards the Via dei Laghi, in the Castelli Romani area. It originated from a legend involving a prayer and a rolling boulder that — against all logic — came to a sudden stop. A place of popular devotion built around a miracle that no one here has forgotten.
The legend of the boulder
The story goes like this: in the Middle Ages, a large tuff boulder broke loose from the slopes of Monte Cavo, and was about to crash into Rocca di Papa. A traveller saw it rolling down, prayed to the Virgin Mary, and the boulder stopped just a few metres from him. The man who witnessed the miracle had a chapel built on the spot, and from that moment on, the place became a pilgrimage destination.
The centuries after the miracle
The number of devoted visitors grew over the centuries. At the end of the 1500s, the chapel came under the control of the church of Rocca di Papa. In 1892 the Sanctuary was handed over to the Trinitarian order. In 1932 the current church was inaugurated, rebuilt according to a design by architect Don Salvatore Spadaio. Inside the church, the visitor would do well to look up at the ceiling, which features fine wooden coffered panels. And an image of the Virgin Mary is carved directly into the block of tuff.
Practical information
The sanctuary is located in Via Ariccia, 00040 Rocca di Papa (RM).
