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HISTORICAL NOTES: OUR LADY OF FREEDOM "Madonna
della Libera" Corriere Peligno/Gente Italica copyright© by Sestino Casasanta (This short story was written by the author in 1992 for the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the arrival of a replica of the statue of the Madonna della Libera in London, Canada). The devotion of "Our Lady of Freedom" began in Pratola and in the Peligna valley (Central Italy) in the early 1500's. The painted image of the Blessed Virgin which even today, is venerated in the magnificent sanctuary of the "Madonna della Libera", was discovered by a peasant in the ruins of an abandoned little chapel in the rural surrounding of Pratola Peligna. This chapel was destroyed by a violent earthquake in the year 1456. At the time of discovery, the Peligna valley was infested by a terrible plague, and the people had deserted the towns and villages to seek refuge in the surrounding farmland. According to the legend passed down to us: There was a man named "Fortunato", who had contracted the fatal disease. He left his family and found refuge in the ruins of a small chapel in the vicinity of a tiny village named "Torre". Fortunato was a very religious man, and he felt that if he was going to die, his death should come about within a sacred place. When he entered the ruined chapel, he had no strength left so he fell asleep. During his sleep he dreamed of a Beautiful Lady who said to him: 'I am your Celestial Mother! I am the Lady of the Freedom! I am here to save you all from the terrible plague! Now wake up my faithful believer! Go! Go back to your home, to your family and your friends. Go! without fear, the plague is gone.' Fortunato already healed, opened his eyes, a few feet away under some stucco debris, he spotted an eye which was staring at him. Using all the strength he had left, he removed the debris and some stones and when the clearing was done, he saw the same Beautiful Lady that had appeared to him in the dream. After he reached his home in Pratola, he realized that he had witnessed a miracle; that the plague had ended by the divine intervention of the Madonna. As soon as Fortunato informed the "Pratolani" about the vision and the discovery, they united and went to the little chapel to see the image of the beautiful Madonna, and thank her through prayers, for saving their lives from the destructive plague. Then they decided to transport to Pratola the section of the collapsed wall, where her image was present. Then they located the image of the Madonna in an already existing church. In 1540 by the will of the people of Pratola, the first chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Freedom was erected, and later in the year 1587 the chapel was replace by a large church. But even this larger church was not enough to accommodate the many thousand pilgrims coming from all parts of Central Italy to venerate the miraculous "Madonna della Libera". So again three centuries later, the people of Pratola and the Peligna valley, decided to build a magnificent temple/sanctuary. Together they worked without renumeration from 1851, until the day of the opening ceremony in the year 1865 (14 years later). |
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