Shrine of Our Lady of Europe (Italy)
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The Shrine of Our Lady of Europe (
Roman Catholic shrine at Campodolcino, Lombardy, Italy. It is devoted to Our Lady of Europe (Italian: Madonna d'Europa; Lombard: Madòna d'Europa) and is currently the headquarters of the European Ecumenical Centre for Peace
.
History
During the late 1950s, Catholic sectors felt that the
Archbishop of Milan, decided to place a statue in the region of the Italian Alps, which marks the hydrological centre of Europe, since it was the watershed separating the basins of the rivers Rhine, Danube and Po
.
The monument was blessed by the Archbishop of Milan Giovanni Montini (later Pope Paul VI) on 14 September 1958.
Statue
A 13 metres (43 ft) high statue in honour of Our Lady of Europe was erected at 1,925 metres (6,316 ft)
above sea level[1] in Motta, a frazione of the comune of Campodolcino on the western slopes of the Valle Spluga to the north of Chiavenna. It is a gilt bronze statue, which was sculptured by Egidio Casagrande taking inspiration from the Shroud of Turin
. The statue rests on a circular structure atop a sanctuary with an altar below. The structure weighs 4 tonnes (8,800 lb).
References