The shrine of the Madonna dell'Altomare is a Catholic shrine in Andria, built on the Basilian laura of Santa Sofia; the cult dates from about 1598, the year in which a miracle is said to have occurred.
What to see
The shrine today consists of a single nave with tuff walls, like the original laura. Some elements thought to belong to the earlier Basilian laura are preserved: a circular basin four and a half metres in diameter and over a metre deep, and a fresco in an adjacent cave showing a bishop saint, perhaps belonging to an ancient baptistery in which baptism was practised by immersion. Traces of three pillars and a cocciopesto floor of an older building have also been found. Inside is the sculpture The Pietà of the Altomare by Luigi Enzo Mattei, which according to the source has been declared by UNESCO, together with his other works, «Heritage for a culture of peace».
At the end of the 16th century the place was on the outskirts of the town, outside the walls. Here a little girl who had fallen into a cistern was found only after three days of vain searching, in perfect health and dry, held above the water level by an image of the Madonna; according to the story, the girl said the image had fed and held her. The image was called Madonna dell'Altomare, because it was found at the water's surface, and became a pilgrimage destination as miraculous: to house the ever more numerous faithful the church was built, whose façade is attributed to Federico Santacroce. The present building is the result of a rebuilding carried out between 1875 and 1877. In 1898, for the third centenary of the finding, the people asked for the coronation of the Madonna: the following year, together with the crown, a rose, a cross and a book were added to the image.
Visiting
The shrine is in Andria; opening hours and service times should be checked with the parish, because the sources consulted do not give them.
Our editors' tip
Look for the great circular basin and the fresco of the bishop saint in the adjoining cave: they are remains of the laura on which the shrine stands, and perhaps of a baptistery in which people were baptised by immersion.
