Church of the Madonna di Montevergine

In the alley, which leads from the Cordarauro road to the Vallone one, there is the third chapel of the town, dedicated to the Mother of God under the title of MADONNA DI MONTEVERGINE.

Although there is no certain historical information, like the other two antecedents, we do however have such clues as to be able to form our almost certain opinion. It cannot be as old as the others, because the accurate Guadagni did not mention it and therefore to be considered non-existent at the end of the century. XVII, that is when the learned writer illustrated our entire Diocese. Another reason then tells us that this chapel was distinguished from the others by the addition of «NUOVO from the Di Lucia family, that is, one of his ancestors, D. Alessandro Di Lucia, three. Then the tradition that the last heir VA tells us takes on the character of truth ", in fact commonly still today it is called" NEW CHURCH ", a name that certainly denotes the posteriority of the foundation compared to the al-Parish of the town, in 1715 he donated the ground of the current chapel, where there were some ruined factories owned by him, as there are still today behind the said church owned by that family, with the obligation to build a chapel there for the convenience of the population in those contiguous neighborhoods of the country.

All the previous probabilities are confirmed by the thousandth written on the right side of the main arch "1787", where the Holy Annunciation of the Most Holy Mary was painted in the fresco and under the name of the painter, erased by humidity, and now that we are writing, when the Church was whitewashed, they made this memory disappear, with which it was possible to determine, in a certain way, the foundation of the Church.

The Community, that is the Town Hall, built it there as it can still be seen today, with a beamed ceiling, competently high, with three large windows, which make it very bright. t 50 palms long and 22 palms wide, with a small presbytery surrounded by a cast iron balustrade, made by the Municipality in 1858.

It has only one altar in front of the entrance, which is at noon; this altar was originally made of wood, in 1863 it was made of marble from the Monte della Misericordia in Naples. The cone of the altar, in elliptical shape, contains a picture, 9,3 / 4 palms high and 6 wide; it represents the Blessed Virgin seated with the Divine Child, assisted by Angels, as is venerated in the so famous picture of Montevergine, hence the title of «CHURCH OF MONTEVER-GINE».

To the right of the Virgin there is S. Gennaro, with his sacred vestments, to the left S. Guglielmo da Vercelli, founder of the ancient and renowned Monastery of Montevergine; but the execution and composition of the painting is very current and cheap.

In this chapel there is a half-length statue of St. Guglielmo, very badly treated and pink with time, in fact it is made of papier-mâché, made just for this chapel.

There is still a second half-length statue, in natural size, in wood, of the glorious Pontiff S. Silvestro, ancient and beautiful is the sculpture, with exact proportions, very natural, transported here after the destruction of his chapel. as we will say below.

Only one mass is celebrated every morning in this chapel, for a chaplaincy left by our distinguished and illustrious fellow citizen Marquis D. Fabrizio Ippolito, it was close to his house, the one that is now owned and inhabited by the Speltra family.

The chaplain is appointed there by the administrators of the Monte della Misericordia of Naples, who supplies the sacred furnishings, because he administers all the goods of the pious Marquis, as we will say. On the Altar, renovated and modernized according to the Liturgical Norms of the Second Vatican Council, in November 1984, the ancient Image, already described, was venerated. Whose work? It is not known.

Meanwhile, worn and badly reduced by time and by the nails of those who helped reduce it to such poor conditions, the painting required a profound restoration. With funds obtained from celebrations, the painting was entrusted to the talented Maestro Nicola Gaglione of Avella to carry out the Restoration. Under his expert hands the "miracle" took place, first two Angels, then the forehead, the eyes, finally the complete face of another image, the face of a Child on the knees of the "NEW MADONNA". A small painting within a large re-cleaned painting. Supporting the small picture is an Angel fluttering over the Mugnano landscape of past centuries. In an admirable chiaroscuro dominates the front of the Parish, of the Church of S. Maria delle Grazie, the famous bell tower, 58 meters high from the ground, culminating in the spire with ball, weather vane, and gilded bronze cross: «the sacred Palladio of the Mugnanese community , shining at the bright sunsets in Campania, and greeting the traveler to the furthest limits of the valley ».

On December 8, 1985, the parish priest of the Ascension D. Giovanni PICA-R IELLO, collaborated by Messrs. Vario Umberto, Mugnano Pasquale, D'Apo-lito Francesco, Festa Pasquale, challenging the stubborn opposition of some families, nostalgic for the old image and unwilling to accept the new one, in procession from the Cardinal District, brings the painting and on the sacrato of the Sanctuary of S. Filomena, celebrates the Holy Mass and blesses the New Image of the Virgin, amidst the emotion and the cheers of all the faithful present.

In solemn procession the image of Maria SS. di Montevergine returns to the «New Church», to be the Mother, as always, who hears, consoles and comforts everyone.

To satisfy the desire of all the discontented, it was decided to exhibit in the church the traditional image of the Madonna of Montevergine, the work of Maestro Nicola Gaglione.

On March 2, 1986, with the intervention of all the city authorities, the Committee of the "Chiesa Nuova", SEA Tommaso GUBITOSA, Abbot of Montevergine, solemnly blesses in the Parish Church of the Ascension, the Effigy prepared to perpetuate in future centuries the name of Maria SS. of Montevergine to the New Church, located in via Marchese Ippolito.

The first rises at the eastern end, dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, whose erection we believe must go back to beyond 1600. The Guadagni, with unusual silence, only notes the existence of it, having a vaulted ceiling, with a proportionate dome and governed by two deputies of the jurisdiction '.

Not having been able to find other written or oral references, we should stop and limit ourselves to describing it, as we see it today.

Quite outside the built-up area, no longer today 1987, because in the center of a new district, it has the prospect at noon, with entrance on a public country road; to the west flanked by a torrent, which often swells threatening; to the north and to the east, leaning against cultivated land, which makes it humid.

Although small (64 X 44 palms), it is the only church in these parts that has three naves, with arches and factory pillars. It has a proportionate presbytery, somewhat raised from the rest of the floor; only one altar under the small dome, originally it was made of wood, the Sac. Fr Andrea Barbati, former Father of S. Pietro in Cesarano, rebuilt it in marble at his own expense in 1866, according to the description that can be read on the steps.

In a niche, behind the said altar, there is an ancient wooden statue of St. Michael (stolen in 1982), on the entrance door there is a stage with a small organ, built by the Bursars of the festival in 1858. The praised Sac. Barbati just had the statue and the whole Chapel restored.

Under the floor there is a large burial, where it is believed the corpses of the victims of the great famine of 1600 were buried, a scourge following the Deste of 1530, which having filled the burials of the Par-rocchial Church, were buried in this second massacre in this church, for which the people. in memory of this, in November of each year he celebrates the Nine of Purgatory with great devotion.

There is a daily chaplaincy.

The founder of this sanctuary was Francesco De Lucia, a humble priest born in Mugnano del Cardinale, from a barber, in 1772. After his ascension to the priesthood in 1796 he taught literature and philosophy first in the Casa D'Illiceto, then in Naples. In 1805 he went to Rome to accompany Mons. Bartolomeo De Cesare, bishop of Potenza. On this occasion, thanks to the Monsignor, he obtained from the Pontiff a sacred body, with an ampoule containing blood, which he believed to be of the Virgin and Martyr Filumena. This is because in the niche were found three brick tablets on which the following words were read: LUMENA | PAX TE | CVM FI, with the symbols of the lily, the palm and the anchor, tablets that were later sold on 11 July 1827 to the rector De Lucia through Pope Leo XII.

In possession of this treasure De Lucia returned with it to Naples, where he had the sacred bones covered with the simulacrum of a girl and with clothes donated by a Lady Angelarosa Torres. Back in Mugnano, the parish priest D. Antonio Ippolito wanted this relic in the parish church, but De Lucia preferred to deliver it to the church of the Grazie, where it was never removed. Shortly afterwards he donated it with a public deed to the Municipality, in order to have in exchange the appointment of Custos, and then also that of Rector for life of that Church, of municipal patronage. From that day the cult of St. Filomena spread throughout Italy, and from Italy all over the world.

This religious building, the destination of continuous pilgrimages, was built in 1641 to house the relics of the Saint. The facade of the Sanctuary, truly splendid, has a dome with a small cylindrical tower and is accompanied by two twin square towers that exceed the aforementioned cylindrical turret. The bronze portal shown in the image on the right is very beautiful. Inside the structure there are several works of art.