Grotta dell'Apparizione

Grotta dell'Apparizione

The cave of the apparitions is one of the most particular and evocative places found in Marta. This cave has gone down in history for being the place where the Holy Virgin Mary appeared to most people, the first apparition dates back to May 19, 1948 and since then many people come on pilgrimage to this place every year. According to local accounts, the first to have seen the Madonna in this place were three girls named Maria Antonietta, Ivana and Brunilde; but the most famous epithet linked to this mystery of faith is that inherent in the story of Mario Prugnoli, also known by the nickname of “uncle Mario” and reported in the book “Apparizioni di Marta”. After the first apparition, numerous investigations began to establish whether or not the authenticity of theapparition until shortly after the miracle happened and a little girl with an arm affected by an incurable disease, after the visit to the cave was inexplicably healed. But the Capuchin friar who had been put in charge of the control commission, who up to that moment had not believed in any of the various apparitions, while he was on a balcony to deny the crowd to the miracle, witnessed a scene that totally changed his vision. . According to the stories the friar saw the sun spinning and the sky became of a thousand colors and so the man shouted “Viva Maria”. According to the newspapers of the time there were about 40,000 people who witnessed the miracle and from then on the Virgin did not finish giving graces of all kinds. As complex and mysterious as the history of this apparition cave is, this remains one of the most curious and interesting places to visit for those who travel to this beautiful country