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 Francesco Gonzaga proclaims his promise for the freeing of Mantova of the plague (opening on the outside portico). |
The times were hard, very hard, and the mediaeval world was emerging from what has been defined as the Dark Ages, full of great superstitions and fear and a new search for faith.It was the huge and more than justified fear caused by the plague of 1399 which prompted Francesco Gonzaga IV, of Mantova, to promise the erection of a great church in honour of the Virgin Mary should the terrible plague go away. The plague passed and Gonzaga maintained his promise. The Sanctuary was apparently built according to plans designed by Bartolino of Novara, whose other works include the Castle of Saint George in Mantova and the Castle of the Estense in Ferrara. The convent of the lower order of brothers of the Order of Saint Frances was built and holy place was at the disposal of Pope Bonifacio IX. The number of faithful pilgrims visiting the area increased constantly, and the type of pilgrim also began to alter. Now, not only fishermen, poachers and poor people from the surrounding area, prompted by hope and true faith, came to worship, but also merchants, bourgeois, aristocrats, princes, kings and emperors, and even popes - the Emperor Charles V and Pope Pio II Piccolomini both came, and humbly bent down on their knees before the holy image to pray to Our Lady and beg for mercy and forgiveness. They did not come empty-handed, and with time the Sanctuary and the convent accumulated gifts from the poorest of the poor along with precious objects of great value and prestige. Several high cast families of Mantova wanted a residence within the holy sanctuary and annexed to the convent residences were built to host the families looking for spiritual life.
 Entrusting the preceding oratory to the Franciscans (opening on the outside portico). |
Among those who worked on the Sanctuary was Giulio Pippi Romano, who designed the Mausoleum of Baldassarre Castiglioni, the distinguished Mantovan diplomatic and author of the "Cortigiano", who entrusted the work to Romano in his testament. Other works in the premises are also attributed to Giulio Romano and his school: the old vestry and the chapel of the high altar. Building and construction was continuos, and the church was constantly enriched and beautified, making the church and its multiple of annexes a significant compound of great prestige and importance which became well known even outside of the state of Mantova. The church also became rich from the donations and gifts, often conspicuous, which never failed to arrive. Bedsides the development in religious terms of the locality, which had by now become assiduously frequented, the village enjoyed a strong commercial growth. Places to host the pilgrims were built and on the 11th August 1425 Gian Francesco Gonzaga, V of Mantova and from 1433 the first Marquis of Mantova,arrived in great pomp and style, and instituted a free market for the trading of goods which is still held today and is called "the Fair of the Grazie". It is still held, as then, on the 14th and 15th August in the vast square in front of the Sanctuary.
Vannozzo Posio
