Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary (Pasturo)

Italiano

The Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary (in Italian Cappella della Madonna del Rosario) at Pasturo in Valsassina, is a votive shrine,[^] a few hundred meters from the town center, 739 meters high, on the slopes of the Grignone, at the beginning of one of the main mountain paths. In the Kompass paper map,[^] this small-sized Christian religious architectural structure is indicated as the Cappella del Rosario (Chapel of the Rosary), in the Global Map[^] as Cappella della Madonna (Chapel of Our Lady), in Edizioni Multigraphic[^] it does not exist; in Google Maps it is not marked, in OpenStreetMap it is Cappella della Madonna del Rosario.[^] On the internet there are only my photos.[^]

How to reach it

The Chapel is reached from Pasturo in about 10 minutes of climbing along a mule track, the beginning of Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral, in the first section from Pasturo to Cornisella. It is clear that one of the functions of the wayside shrine is to entrust the Madonna with the protection of hikers, who pass through here at the beginning of a day in Grigna, on their way to Cornisella, Alpe Cova, Pialeral or up to the Brioschi Refuge, and on the way back. The Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7.[^]

The silhouette of the chapel appears at a steep bend to the left, where the mule track joins a path coming from Baiedo, an hamlet a quarter of an hour away. Next to the votive capital there are two mountain huts, a few meters further a drinking pipe with a stone basin and the Cariola stream; the houses of Monteno are about 10 minutes away along the mule track.

Description

The Chapel of the Madonna del Rosario is about 3 meters high and 5 meters wide with an arched vault, closed by a gate, a grate with a small cross.[^] At the base a black box where you can leave the offerings and under a stone where you can sit,[^] a lamp with a light bulb hangs from the ceiling.
The aedicola is built upstream of those who walk, in a semi-flat position. A tiled roof, probably a later addition, crosses the mule track of the path supported by two masonry columns, providing a possible shelter for the traveler; the base is painted yellow, the rest white.[^]

Inside the chapel, there is a standing statue of the Madonna, fifty centimeters high, with a red dress and a blue mantle rolled up from the waist down, of discreet workmanship. In her right hand Virgin holds the rosary, hanging down, her left arm raised to half holds the Child. Baby Jesus holds a rosary in his right hand, with the other holding a black sphere (a globe) with a cross on top, a symbol of Christ's supremacy over the world and earthly powers. Below, on the wall, a written, of which now one reads only Nobis, lower a bench that acts as a small altar.[^] The side walls and the ceiling are almost completely discolored.
Two frescoes, of a quality not to be despised, are on the sides of the statue of the Madonna and Child. To the left of the viewer, a saint is painted with a book in his right hand and a white flower with a long green stem under his arm; to the right, a saint or nun is in the act of prayer with a merciful gaze upwards.

References

1. "Wayside shrine". Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
2. Kompass. Lecco Val Brembana. Hiking map [1:50.000]. Caldaro (BZ), Kompass. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
3. Caenazzo, Lamberto (2009). Le Grigne. Hiking map [1:35.000]. Firenze, Global Map. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
4. Edizioni Multigraphic. Brianza, Triangolo Lariano. Carta dei sentieri e rifugi [1:25.000] Map of trails and shelters. Firenze, Edizioni Multigraphic. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
5. "map=16/45.9489/9.4409". OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
6. Mauro Vezzoli (26 February 2008- ). "Cappella della Madonna del Rosario (Pasturo)". [Album di Google Photos]. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
7. "Our Lady of the Rosary". Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
8. Mauro Vezzoli (16 December 2014). "A light bulb turned on at the first light of darkness makes the chapel with the statue of the Madonna with the Child in her arms and the Rosary in the other hand more beautiful. In the foreground stands the cross of Christ of the grate.". In Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral and Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral (da Pasturo a Cornisella). [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
9. Mauro Vezzoli (2 July 2015). "Mauro on the stone seat of the Rosary Chapel just above Pasturo. In 2015, I go to Brunino to take some picture.". In Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral. [Facebook photo]. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
10. Mauro Vezzoli (30 June 2014). "The structure with the chapel of the Madonna at the beginning of the path from Pasturo. I photograph with my Sony DSC-WX80.". In Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral and Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral (da Pasturo a Cornisella). [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
11. Mauro Vezzoli (30 June 2014). "The Madonna of the Rosary with the child over Pasturo. Our Lady is between two saints frescoed on the wall.". In Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral and Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral (da Pasturo a Cornisella). [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 19 October 2017.