In the place where now stands the Sanctuary in the fourteenth century, a shrine dedicated to Virgin Mary was present, and it was called the Madonna dell'Arco, as it was located near an ancient Roman arch.
Every Easter Monday, a celebration was held in honor of the Virgin Mary nearby the shrine.
According to legend, the Easter Monday in 1450, during the celebration, a man angered by the defeat in the game of pall-mall, cursing, violently threw a ball against the sacred image: the image of the Virgin Mary would begin to bleed from his left cheek, thus making a miracle the crowd that had thronged the place, and the young man was hanged in lime near a shrine.
The incident soon became famous and the fame of the Madonna of the Arch reached several places nearby Naples: the number of the pilgrims who came to venerate the Virgin Mary grew up a lot, so much that a church in honor of the Virgin Mary was built.
The first stone of the Sanctuary was laid in 1593, and in 1595 the sanctuary was handed over to the Dominicans, who began work to extend the building. The Sanctuary has its present form since 1973.
Every Easter Monday the Sanctuary is still a place of pilgrimage from all over Campania .
October-March
weekdays: open from 6:30 to 13:00 and from 15:30 to 19:00
holydays: open from 6:30 to 14:00 and from 15:30 to 20:00
April-September
weekdays: open from 6:30 to 13:00 and from 15:30 to 20:00
holydays: open from 6:30 to 14:00 and from 15:30 to 21:00
