Madonna del Pino Sanctuary
The sanctuary i situated on the National Road S. S. Adriatica, not far from the ancient Route Romea, along a wide pinewood.
It dates back to 1445, when the Carmelite Girolamo Lambertini, fascinated by the site where the Holy Virgin had misteriously appeared, decided to build a chapel there. A few years later, the modest chapel would become a real church, which was consecrated in 1498.
Madonna del Pino's Church presents a late-romanesque-styled façade, adorned by a portal of Istrian stone which was given by the community of Cervia in 1557.
The inner part consists of a single nave with truss-beam roof, ending with a small apse, while the right side of the church houses the Chapel of the Virgin, where in the past Fra Girolamo's crucifix was kept.
Inside the church there is the picture of the Madonna del Pino, which in reality is not the original painting, but a more recent xerography, as well as a painting showing the Virgin with the Baby, a reproduction of a Russian icon of the 18th century.
The frescoes are interesting: on the right-side wall a picture of San Rocco and, on the left-side one, a Madonna on the throne with the Baby, both by unknown painters of the early 16th century. The many pictures representing the Virgin show clearly that the Sanctuary is dedicated to Her, in fact she was supposed to protect the town from the disastrous earthquakes , which had been causing ruinous effects since 1400.
Where: Via Romea Nord, Cervia
Opening: yearly
Admission: free
Official Tourist Information Site of Cervia