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Friday 29 March 2024
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Foligno

A Vanished Sanctuary


Along the old Via Plestina (ss. 77 Val di Chienti) after Pale, there is a small village called Ponte Santa Lucia that takes its name from the well-known sanctuary to St Lucy that stood here once. The stones of the sanctuary itself have been used to build a bridge named after the saint.

Between 1860 and 1870, the sanctuary was confiscated from the Church and sold to private citizens, who left it in a total state of neglect. It probably stood after the crossroads to Sostino, on the right hand side of the road coming from Foligno. A curative water spring near the sanctuary has also vanished. Dedicated to St Lucy, the protector saint of all those suffering from eye afflictions, the sanctuary was probably an important point of reference for its time, particularly in view of the large quantity of depictions of St Lucy in votive paintings and sanctuaries in the area.

Madonna di Sasso Morino
A clearly visible niche stands near the boundary between Scopoli and Leggiana, in an elevated position along the Menotre river and the Val di Chienti road. To reach it one must cross the river, as a purificatory act. It is unclear when this niche was built, even though it is mentioned as the Madonna di Sasso Morino in a document related to an apostolic visit in 1573. Other documents speak of its construction as being earlier than 1490.
Both villages make a pilgrimage to the niche on Easter Monday, before making their way to the semetary on the opposite side of the main road.
The niche probably had a pacifying function for the two villages at the time it was built. A small chapel was built next to the niche in the 18th century.

Visitors should definitely take a stop for lunch at the
Ristorante Da Angelo Loc. Ponte Santa Lucia Foligno PG tel. (+39) 0742.311.515 (+39) 0742.660.216

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