Travellers and pilgrims who come to the Sanctuary from all over Italy and even from abroad are amazed by such beauty and majesty. The Basilica of Vicoforte was built by Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy, who had the work started in 1596.
A few years earlier, a hunter from the area had unintentionally struck a votive pillar dedicated to the Madonna, which miraculously began to bleed.
The place immediately became a destination for pilgrims, so much so that the King convinced him to dedicate a shrine to Our Lady that in his plans was to become the mausoleum of the House of Savoy.
Its elliptical dome is the largest in Europe and the fifth largest in the world in terms of size and shape, it has a total height of 74 metres and a width of 37 on the largest side and 28 on the smallest.
