The Oratory of Madonna del Piaggio in Craveggia is found in the village of the same name, in a superb panoramic location overlooking the Vigezzo Valley. Originally, a building dedicated to the Madonna was built, with a fresco to Our Lady of Graces. Later, towards the middle of the 1500s, the small chapel was transformed into an oratory, but the important fresco was kept inside.
The Bishop of Novara ordered some modifications to the building, which was thus altered several times during the first half of the 17th century. In 1670 the Vigezzo painter Carlo Mellerio created the altarpiece, which depicts two women intent on cleaning the Virgin under the guidance of St. Anne and Joachim. In 1727 Giuseppe Mattia Borgnis was entrusted with the fresco decoration of the oratory.
As well as the celebration of the Birth of Mary on 8th September, the oratory also celebrates the Madonna del Piaggio on 13th August with a procession along the village streets.
Info: circuitodeisanti.it
