Madonna del Ghisallo
Encyclopedia
Magreglio
Magreglio is a small town in the province of Como, Lombardy, Italy.-Twin towns: Friedberg, Germany...
, close to Lake Como
Lake Como
Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 146 km², making it the third largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It is named after a legendary Marian apparition.
According to the legend, the Medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
count Ghisallo was being attacked by bandits when he saw an image of Virgin Mary at a shrine
Shrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
. He ran to it and was saved from the robbers. The apparition became known as the Madonna del Ghisallo, and she became a patroness of local travellers. In later times, Madonna del Ghisallo (the hill) was made part of the Giro di Lombardia bicycle race.
A local priest, Father Ermelindo Vigano, proposed that Madonna del Ghisallo (the apparition) be declared the patroness
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of cyclists. This was confirmed by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
. Nowadays the shrine of Madonna del Ghisallo contains a small cycling museum with photos and artifacts from the sport. There also burns an eternal flame
Eternal flame
An eternal flame is a flame or torch that burns day and night for an indefinite period. The flame that burned constantly at Delphi was an archaic feature, "alien to the ordinary Greek temple"....
for cyclists who have died. One particularly notable artifact is the crumpled bicycle that Fabio Casartelli
Fabio Casartelli
Fabio Casartelli was an Italian cyclist and an Olympic gold medalist who died in a crash on the descent of the Col de Portet d'Aspet, France, during the 15th stage of the 1995 Tour de France.He was born in Como, Italy....
, a native of the region, rode on the day that he died in a crash in the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
.
Colle del Ghisallo is a mountain pass road that connects the upper part of Valassina Larian Triangle. The point of the pass, at an altitude of 754 m above sea level, is located near Magreglio. A few meters from the pass is a small church, the sanctuary of the Madonna del Ghisallo. Its name comes from a certain Ghisallo which in medieval times in that place was attacked by bandits and made a vow to Our Lady to build a church in his honor if he survived.
The ascent of Ghisallo (from the north) is traditionally traveled by the Tour of Lombardy and was even more times into the course of the Tour of Italy. For this reason, Pope Pius XII proclaimed the universal patroness of cyclists.
Next to the shrine stands the Museum of cycling in the forecourt there is a monument to the rider.