Putignano - Puglia - Italy - Church of the Madonna delle Grazie

The Cult of the Madonna delle Grazie or the Madonna of the Pomegranate

Madonna delle Grazie in Putignano, Madonna of the pomegranate.

An image preserved in the church of the Convent shows the Madonna in whose right hand she holds a ripe pomegranate. A historiographical and anthropological research, digging into past centuries, into religion and popular beliefs has shown that the sculptures that reproduce the Madonna of the pomegranate are not many.

The symbol of this fruit takes on an important religious meaning, that of asking for the Graces of fertility, productivity and abundance for crops, up to the extension of a symbol of immortality in the afterlife. Mary Most Holy is the One who brings Grace par excellence, that is, her son Jesus, therefore She is the "Mother of Divine Grace", Mary is the Queen of all Graces, it is She who, interceding for us with God ("Our Advocate" ), causes him to grant us believers and sinners any grace. According to Catholic belief it is believed that God denies nothing to the Blessed Virgin.

Interesting are some images, such as the 1403/6 sculpture of Jacopo della quercia, present in museo della cattedrale duomo of Ferrara o la Madonna del Granato di Capaccio near Salerno, whose cult dates back to the fourteenth century, o Maria delle Grazie di Scafati always near Salerno.

Altare rudimentale posto sulla destra della grotta

Rock Church Madonna delle Grazie | On the sides of the cave

Entering the cave on the left of the stairs there is an altar / aedicule on the front part there is a recently restored fresco. Until recently it was ruined and illegible in the central part due to humidity being in direct contact with the rock. Assuming that it represented a Crucifixion as there is a residual inscription INRI, the two side figures still visible can be identified as the Madonna (Mater Dolorosa) and St. John the Evangelist. It can be considered with a good approximation that these frescoes date back to the time of the first arrangement of the cave, that is to 1568 and the hand that made them is the same that painted Santa Maria de la Madia 1564 which is located exactly on the opposite side.

The side altar on the right of the cave is dedicated to S. Maria de la Madia, and as you can see from the structure it is the first altar built in the same, with a raw and spartan table made up of two simple limestone blocks. On the two sides of the aedicule are represented Sant'Antonio Abate and San Rocco, the latter, according to the popular Putignano imagination that uses to represent him in this way, with the inevitable little dog and the scar of the plague on his left knee. Climbing on a stool available nearby it is possible to see some human bones in the burial obtained at the back of the aedicule.

Rock Church Madonna delle Grazie | Central altar and main rooms of the underground church

The cave develops in two environments, the first main one that is noticed upon entering is paved with typical chiancole of the territory. This front compartment is accessed by going down a small staircase, it has a rectangular shape whose dimensions are approximately 14 meters wide by 12 meters long, while the height of the irregular vault is approximately 5 meters.

On the altar a small niche houses the "Madonna delle Grazie with Child" a painted stone statue dated 1656. At her feet is represented the Church of San Pietro Apostolo di Putignano.

The date A.D. is shown on the two pillars of the canteen. 1755, while in the center of the altar, precisely under the table, there is the coat of arms of the De Miccolis family which has been handed down the patronage of the church-cave since its origins.

On the external sides of the altar there are four columns with capitals that embellish the entire structure.

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