The six armatures realised from the XV century constitute one of the most important finds of arms for personal defence made in the Italian gothic style known today. In all the museums throughout the world there are just 17 armatures of this type, including the six already mentioned. In '400 armour making workshops were set up, especially in the area between Milan and Brescia, and entire armour clothing for men of arms were made, which offered protection from the head to the feet. A whole series of homogeneous pieces were modelled on steel plates: helmets, chests, backs, shoulders, arms, gloves, thighs, knees, and shoes and any other pieces deemed necessary for protecting the entire body of the soldier. There are several hypotheses on how and when the armour was taken into the Sanctuary. One theory, held by the writers of this article and other experts in the field, is based on the logic of the historical reality of those times. The six armatures in Italian gothic style bear several insignias to the Missaglias, a well known family of armoury which operated in Milan towards the end of 1450 and the beginning of the 1500, and were granted to the Gonzagas, the masters of Mantova, around the twenties of the XVI century. In that period, the superior of the convent annexed to the Sanctuary, Father Francesco da Acquanegra, instructed a re-ordering of the entire mass of objects relating to the statues which had accumulated over more than a century in the lifetime of the religious complex, and ordered a new internal structure to be built. The other armatures date back to 1500 and were almost undoubtedly offered, by various persons, as a gift to the Virgin Mary for blessings received. Today the armour, together with numerous other pieces dating from other periods found on the mannequins which cannot be assembled, are exhibited at the Diocesan Museum, Francesco Gonzaga in Piazza Virgiliana in Mantova, in the old convent of Saint Agnese.

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