The sanctuary of Maria Regina stands in the Antonelli district, in the countryside of Monopoli, and belongs to the diocese of Conversano-Monopoli. The first church was built in 1911 with poor materials and soon proved unstable; in 1929 the parish was founded, dedicated to the Archangel Raphael. On the night of 4 February 1942 the church collapsed, to the great alarm of local people.
What to see
On 11 October of the same year the parish priest Cosimo Tartarelli laid the first stone of the new church, on land given by the Nistrio family, and dedicated it to the Virgin as a vow for the safety of Monopoli during the Second World War. To speed up the work the priest went many times to the United States to raise funds among emigrants; with their help and the work of some fifty local people the church was finished and consecrated in 1950. In 1983 it was made a diocesan sanctuary.
It is a Latin-cross church in dressed stone, with a single nave and a transept, preceded by a portico. The gabled façade has a rose window and statues in the round: in September 1952 Bishop Carlo Ferrari blessed the five life-size stone statues later placed on the front, the Virgin of the Assumption, the Archangel Michael, Saint Nicholas of Bari and Saints Cosmas and Damian, and in 1979 the statue of the Virgin was blessed. On the right, set back from the façade, is the bell tower with its clock; inside, the nave ends in a deep apse.
Visiting
The sanctuary is in the Antonelli district and is a place of pilgrimage. Service times should be checked with the parish.
Our editors' tip
Since 1950 the parish has organised the cavalcade of the Magi, a living re-enactment of the Epiphany that draws people from across the province: if you are in the area in early January, ask about the programme.
