The little church of Sariano has very ancient origins, dating back to the 10th and 11th centuries. The church stands on top of a hill on the outskirts of the small hamlet of Gropparello.
History
Restoration work carried out in the 1960s and 1970s restored the original, austere Romanesque architectural design. A true gem of medieval architecture built from local stone, the little church has a gabled façade and a single doorway.
The oldest part is the apse, which dates back to the 10th century and was built using bricks bound together by thin layers of mortar.
Inside, the following are preserved: a 16th-century fresco depicting the Madonna della Neve, to whom the little church is dedicated, and an icon from 1720 depicting Christ Pantocrator.
The legend behind the name
The name ‘Madonna della Neve’ is linked to the founding of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, during the early centuries of the Church’s history. Legend has it that during the pontificate of Pope Liberius (352–366), a wealthy Roman patrician named John and his wife, having no children, decided to offer their possessions to the Blessed Virgin for the construction of a church dedicated to her. The Virgin Mary appeared to the couple in a dream on the night between 4 and 5 August, indicating the site where the church was to be built. The Pope, too, had the same vision. All three went to the indicated spot, the Esquiline Hill, and found it covered in snow in the middle of summer. The new church was built within the perimeter of the snow-covered ground. The ‘Liberian’ church, named after the Pope, became known to the people as ‘ad Nives’, meaning ‘of the Snow’.
According to local tradition, the Chiesuola di Sariano is also dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows to commemorate an episode – similar to the one in Rome – of a miraculous snowfall in the middle of August on the hills of the Val Vezzeno.
The Via Francigena di Montagna, which crosses the valley, takes its name from this small church: the Via Madonna delle Nevi.