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Terre di Otium, Holy Year 2025: the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of Graces of Quintiliolo

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Our lands, so close to Rome and the Vatican, have always been places of devotion. Dotted with country churches, monasteries and convents, they tell the story of an ancient world, where time flowed slowly and in harmony with Nature. These were humble lands, inhabited by simple people who venerated sacred images and celebrated their patron saint with processions and moments of prayer, with joy and a desire to come together. Even today, it is possible to immerse oneself in silence and contemplation, to rediscover that simplicity, to feel part of Nature and Creation, and to take part in festivals and celebrations that bring every village to life at different times of the year.

The cult of Mary, particularly deeply felt, can be found in dozens of roadside shrines and “cone” along the roads and at the crossroads leading to the medieval villages built on hilltops. Many small churches are dedicated to “Our Lady of the Snow” and bear witness to the ancient snow trade.

There are also some “special” places of worship: the four Marian Sanctuaries, Jubilee churches for the Holy Year 2025, belonging to the Diocese of Tivoli and Palestrina.

In Tivoli, the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of Graces of Quintiliolo: the protector of the harvests

Leaving Tivoli and taking Via di Quintilio Varo, also known as the “road of poets”, you follow a winding road that offers a magnificent view over the “Valley of Hell”. Several lay-bys allow visitors to stop and enjoy the view of the Great Waterfall of the Aniene. Taking Via di Quintiliolo, you reach the sanctuary dedicated to the Blessed Virgin of Quintiliolo. The place name derives from the gens Quintilia, owners of the villa and estate of the Roman consul Quintilius Varus, whose masonry remains are clearly visible just a few metres from the small church.

This is one of the places most loved by the people of Tivoli, who have venerated “their” Madonna here for centuries. A beautiful procession is dedicated to her on the first Sunday in May, recalling the deep bond between the rural world and the Virgin of Quintiliolo, protector of the harvests.

This great devotion was noticed, during the time of the Grand Tour, by the French writer Chateaubriand. Visiting Tivoli from Rome one Sunday in 1803, he composed the “Pilgrim’s Prayer”, inspired by a devotee so absorbed in prayer that he did not notice his presence.

The prayer reads as follows: “O God of the wayfarer, who wished to be adored by the pilgrim in this humble shelter, built upon the ruins of the palace of one of the Great of the Earth. O Sorrowful Mother, who founded Your worship of mercy on the estate of this unfortunate Roman, who died far from his homeland among barbarians! We are but two faithful souls prostrate at the foot of Your solitary altar.

Grant to this stranger, who seems to humble himself so deeply before Your greatness, all that he asks of You, and may his prayers also help to heal my infirmities, so that these two Christians, unknown to one another, who met here for a single moment of life and are about to part never to see each other again on Earth, may, when they find themselves at the foot of Your throne, marvel at owing to one another a part of their own good, thanks to the miracles of charity.”

(from The Beauties of the Christian Religion by F. V. de Chateaubriand)

The church houses a panel painting, dating to the first half of the 13th century, depicting the much-venerated image of the Madonna. According to legend, this painting was found by a farmer, Saint Isidore, while he was ploughing with his oxen in the land near the ruins of the Quintilian villa. At a certain point, the animals are said to have refused to go forward and knelt down because the portrait had miraculously emerged from the furrows of the freshly ploughed earth.

This legend recalls a similar one linked to the Sanctuary of the Most Holy Trinity on Mount Autore: there, two oxen, while ploughing, fell into the precipice below but were miraculously saved and remained unharmed thanks to the prayers of their owner, who had implored the intervention of the Trinity.

The two legends share a common origin: the myth, originally born in the territory of Subiaco, was “exported” by Benedictine monks to the Tivoli area together with the veneration of the Virgin of the Lily. It is therefore historically established that the panel reproducing the image of the Madonna of Quintiliolo was donated by the Benedictine Fathers of Subiaco.

The present sanctuary was completely rebuilt between 1757 and 1766. Since 2013, the Sanctuary has become diocesan thanks to the intervention of His Excellency Mauro Parmeggiani, Bishop of Tivoli.

MASS TIMES

Sundays and Feast Days

8:30, 11:00, 17:30 winter, 18:00 summer

Weekdays

7:30, 17:30 winter, 18:00 summer

CONTACT DETAILS

Telephone

0774 330312

Address

Via Maria SS.ma di Quintiliolo 4

00019 Tivoli (RM)

Website