The sanctuary of the Beata Vergine del Fiume stands in the lower Mandello area: it is a 17th-century Baroque building, born after a miracle linked to a flood of the Meria stream, with a rich apparatus of stuccoes and frescoes. In 2024 the community celebrated the four hundredth anniversary of its foundation.
History
Tradition tells that in the 17th century the Meria, breaking its banks, left at the foot of a Madonna and Child painted on a vineyard wall a sack of grain, intact, torn from a mill. Devotion to that image spread and it was decided to build a church for it. The initiative was that of the archpriest Giovanni Battista Sambuca (Don Giovanni Maria Sambuca in another text), who gathered the faithful’s offerings and the contributions of the leading families; according to the Diocese of Como a large donation from the noble Airoldi family was decisive.
The construction dates to the second quarter of the 17th century: the regional record places it after 1625 and before 1632, with David Retti for the plastic ornament of the presbytery and nave, Giacomo Antonio Santagostino for the choir, Giacomo Scotti for the stuccoes and a certain Ciniselli for the porch. Between 1633 and 1638 the stuccoes of the presbytery and nave and the frescoes of the vault and triumphal arch were made; the sacristy is of about 1670, the porch of 1682, and the walls were decorated between 1736 and 1756. The external chapels of the Way of the Cross are of the end of the 18th and the start of the 19th century.
What to see
The church is preceded by a porch. Inside, the Marian cycle is by Giacomo Antonio Santagostino, a painter active in the Milan area, and the stucco sculptures are by David Retti, an artist successful also outside Italy. The decoration, Baroque in style, is very rich. Behind the altar is the devotional fresco of the Madonna and Child that gives the sanctuary its name.
Practical information
- The sanctuary is in piazza Beata Vergine del Fiume, in Mandello. There are steps at the entrance and, according to the Comune, wheelchair access is not possible.
- Custodians are the Sisters of Saint Joan Antida, and the rector is Mandello’s parish priest. The feast of the Assumption, on 15 August, has celebrations and guided visits.
- We found no official source for opening hours: it is best to ask the parish.
Sources
- Comune di Mandello del Lario, Santuario Beata Vergine del Fiume
- Santuari della Diocesi di Como, Mandello del Lario, Beata Vergine del Fiume
- Lombardia Beni Culturali, Santuario della Beata Vergine del Fiume (record 1n070-00031)
- Comunità pastorale di Mandello, Beata Vergine del Fiume
- Lario News, Mandello: Cammino nella fede e nell’arte (30/9/2024)
- Wikipedia, Santuario della Beata Vergine del Fiume entry.
