Completed in 1907, as recorded on its front wall, the Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes (known locally as the chiesetta di Grava) stands along Via Grava di Sotto at the foot of the Pomagagnon massif in Cortina d'Ampezzo. Dedicated to the patron saint of the hamlet, whose feast day falls on 11 February, the chapel serves as a place of pilgrimage for residents of the Ampezzo valley.
What to see
The exterior features ivory-colored plaster and a moulding that circles the entire building at two-thirds of its height. Above the wooden entrance, a pediment displays the inscription "150°: 1858 Lourdes 2008", commemorating the 150th anniversary of the apparitions to Saint Bernadette Soubirous, alongside a Latin invocation to the Immaculate Conception. Higher up, above a small rose window, twin bell turrets are joined by a central frieze with a white clock face and a crucifix. The copper sheet roof has turned a distinct sea-green hue due to oxidation.
Inside, the single nave features pink marble floors, matching marble pilasters with gold-leaf capitals, and a grey marble entablature. The building was constructed on a north-south axis, allowing six tall windows to illuminate the room throughout the day. Hanging along the walls are fourteen framed paintings depicting the Passion of Christ, which serve as stations of the Cross during Holy Week. Opposite the sanctuary, a historic pipe organ is mounted above the doorway.
A marble balustrade separates the nave from the presbytery, where an altar is attached directly to the far wall. The apse contains a perspective representation of the Lourdes grotto with wooden statues of the Virgin Mary and the kneeling Bernadette, with the tabernacle set at its base. The presbytery also houses a framed canvas showing Saint Joseph with the Infant Jesus. In niches flanking the apse stand two 1907 wooden figures carved by Val Gardena sculptor Corrado Pitscheider: Saint Lucy holding her eyes on a tray, and Saint Michael the Archangel depicted as a Roman centurion slaying the Devil.
Visiting
The chapel remains an active place of prayer. Devotional activity reaches its peak during the annual feast day on 11 February and throughout Holy Week, when the fourteen painted panels along the nave form the path for the local Via Crucis procession.
Our editors' tip
Pay close attention to the spatial orientation of the church: its precise north-south alignment was engineered to maximize natural sunlight coming through the six side windows, keeping the space bright even during short winter days in the Dolomites.