Tourist Attraction in Pescara:
Basilica della Madonna dei Sette Dolori

The Basilica of the Madonna dei Sette Dolori is a shrine of Pescara, It is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, which, according to the Christian tradition, has had to face seven sorrows. The basilica is a religious, historical, artistic and cultural landmark for the city of Pescara as well as for the whole region. The church has a basilica plan with a Latin cross. The façade is a tripartite hut divided vertically by pilasters. On the central body there is a bas-relief of the Madonna, with two bare side niches next to it. The portal is simple. The central architrave shows the inscription "Basilica", added in 1952. The façade up to the 60s was detached in white and purple red, colors subsequently dismantled, restoring the sober color of the bricks. The bell tower is a tower with a cusp. Next to the church there is a small convent building. The interior has three stuccoed naves, with frescoes on the central vault. The altar ends with a semicircular apse, and has a wooden statue of the Madonna of the Seven Sorrows, represented in seven swords that pierce the protruding heart of the Virgin. The devotional legend of the apparition of the Madonna of the Seven Sorrows dates back to the end of the sixteenth century or the beginning of the seventeenth century. In the place where the present sanctuary is located, today Largo Madonna, there was a thick forest of oaks where the farmers often led their flocks to pasture. In an unspecified day, in the middle of the bushes, the scene of the Deposition from the Cross, depicting the Madonna, appeared with seven swords embedded in the heart and on the knees the lifeless body of Jesus. After the initial loss , believers were convinced that it was an extraordinary event, so it was decided to bring the image in a modest chapel (usual place of worship) located in Colle Ruscitelli (today's district De Jacobis), where, after consultations, had been established to erect a church. But the next morning there was an episode that was judged by believers "amazing": the many curious who went to the place of "appearance" to realize what happened, the image seemed to be in its primitive place, in the identical position of day ahead. It was believed to be a joke and therefore, in the evening, the painting was relocated to its place in the chapel. The next day, however, the episode was repeated. The image was brought back into the chapel and precautions were taken, inspecting every corner, ensuring doors and windows and placing a night guard. The guardians, in the morning, along with the devoted devotees, reported the mysterious return of the image in the primitive place, interpreting the event as the sign of the predilection of the Madonna towards that place. Desiring that the Marian shrine increase its importance, to be able to propagate more the cult, on the request of the bishop Benedetto Falcucci first, and by the interest of Archbishop Antonio Iannucci then, with the decree of 16 January 1959 of Pope John XXIII, church, consecrated to God in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Seven Sorrows, to the dignity of a minor basilica. On December 3, 1952, Pope Pius XII proclaimed in perpetuity the Madonna of the Seven Sorrows, celestial patron of the diocese of Penne Pescara. The feast of the Madonna dei Sette Dolori is celebrated on the first Sunday in June, attracting devotees from Abruzzo and also from outside the region.

Attractions in Pescara