Madonna di Campiglio

rom the middle of the century, Campiglio is a sanctuary of tourists. Yet the name, Madonna di Campiglio, is reminiscent of a Christian sanctuary which drew many of the devout and inspired many gifts. The ancient sanctuary razed to the ground at the end of the 19th century due to the damage that occurred in the fire of 1887 which devastated the first tourist facility that had been built proximate to the monastery of Campiglio. It was rebuilt several times. Franz Joseph Osterreicher, the son of the Emperor of AustriaHungary, Franz Joseph built a new church in 1895. It was a sanctuary notable for the flow of the wayfarers and devotional piety. The monk Raimondo, founder of the sanctuary, built a church, a Madonna del Fico -- Campiglio hospice for wayfarers and pilgrims at the end of the 13th century in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of God for the salvation of souls, for the welfare of the poor and the defense of the pilgrims and the wayfarers.The merchants of Giudicarie valleys, Val di Ledro, Arco, Riva and the Vallagarina who frequented the great fairs of the Alto Adige, the passage through Campiglio had fewer tolls and fees while under estimating its dangers. There was a long mule trail that served as an almost impassable passage between Pinzolo and Dimaro through the woods infested with wolves and bears, reeking with predators and assassins while it was impractical in the winter due to the snow and ice.

Hundreds of parchment records from 1207 to 1452, affirm that Sancta Maria de Campeio was the most frequented Marian shrine. The community that managed the hospice was composed of both celibate and married people regarded as confratelli (confreres). They were directed by a monk Prior to whom they pledged absolute obedience. In 1436, there were 13 monks. The community grew to 20 monks and 5 nuns. In effect, the lay brothers became the proprietors of the properties in the valleys around Campiglio. They left their goods to the hospital and in compensation; they were accepted into the community. The Prior would sell their deeded goods and properties and acquired ever more properties around Campiglio increasing the prestige and the strategic importance of their hospice. The importance of the commercial route was critical to guarantee the longevity and certitude of those who entered the hospice, adjacent to the monastery and the hospital. The merchants and the shepherds with their herds and flocks would find rest at Campiglio would leave generous offerings. It was this opulence that threatened the very foundations of the community. The Priors became involved in trafficking in both spiritual things and material goods. Vocations as well as gifts dried up. In 1525, the peasant farmers, angered by the increasing power of the prince bishops, attacked and burned the hospice and the monastery. Restored from the damage inflicted by this rustic war of the peasants, the hospice assumed a less prominent role.

It was the third hospice that arose in the Trentino, after that of the Tonale Pass (1171) and that of San Martino di Castrozza (1181). The monastery had no affiliation with any religious order but by papal order they chose the Augustinian order. Prompted by the bishops, hundreds of the Giudicarie valleys and the Valleys of Noce left Campiglio and the Brenta Dolomites their gifts, their inheritance to the hospice. With the surrender by all of their material goods to chiesa di The decline of the sanctuary was inevitable. In the sucSanta Maria di Campiglio many of the devout were peti- ceeding decades, the Prince Bishops of Trento contioning to be accepted as lay brothers and sisters in the ferred the hospice as well as the title of Prior to ecclesiastical noblemen. The latter should have involved them nearby monastery. 14

he Tyrol lay between the remnants of Roman and Mediterranean and the new Barbarian kingdoms. During this time, no one made as significant impact as St. Vigilius in establishing Christianity in the Tyrol. He was born a Roman patrician and was the associate and correspondent to the early Catholic Fathers of the Church, St Ambrose and St John Chrysostom. He led efforts to spreading Christianity throughout the region as well as establishing the infrastructure of the newly created bishopric of Trento. He had a classical education, studying at both Athens and Rome before joining his brothers Claudian and Magorian in the Trentino in 380 AD. He shepherded other missionaries including Sisinnius, Martyrius and Alexander to evangelize the pagan populace. Having interrupted their spring rituals, they were martyred in 397 in the Val di Non. Vigilius died three years later and was buried in the church built for the three martyrs. It is now the Duomo of Trent, its cathedral.

Spiazzo, where his shrine church is situated. The legend suggests that he was not only stoned to death but pummeled with their wooden shoes and even loaves of bread. The legend within the legend relates that from that date, June 26, bread does not rise in Mortaso, a part Saint Vigilius of Spiazzo. In the Trentino, there are 24 churches dedicated to Vigilius. This includes the historical church and cemetery in Pinzolo. This church is of special significance flanking the important road up to Campiglio and its exterior walls display the paintings of the famous Bishop Vigilius died a natural death. The legends relate Simon Baschenis. The paintings depict the Dance that he was martyred, stoned to death by the pagans in Macabre, the Dance of Death.
Alberto Folgheraiter is the author of many books regarding the Trentino, including his definitive and colorful book I Sentieri dell`Infinito-Storia dei Santuari del Trentino-Alto Adige The Paths of the Infinite-The Story of the Sancutaries of the Trentino Alto-Adige sanctuaries.

Vigilius: Patron of the Trentino

selves with the spiritual needs of people that lived in the valleys and gathered hay and pursued mountain pasturing. In the summer, the neighboring farmers and shepherds relied on the Sanctuary for the administration of the sacraments. Although the sanctuary was wealthy with agricultural properties, the sanctuary with absence of monks, the celebration of solemn feasts and devotional pilgrimages, was reduced to a shelter for herdsmen, woodsmen, charcoal makers, hay gatherers, wayfarers and criminals of every kind. With the absence of regular inspections on the part of the proprietors (the Canons of the local chapter) for the absolute neglect of the tenant farmers, the place became a herdsmans hut without any controls. As the interest in the once popular sanctuary faded, the Canons sold the entire complex to a business man of the Rendena Valley, Giovanni Battista Righi. He transformed the monastery into a hotel appointed with all comfort luxuries of that time: reading room and salon along with a piano and baths. The hotel built in 1870 was destroyed by a fire in 1877 but was reconstructed. In July 1894, there came a royal lodger, Francis Joseph of

Austria along with his wife, Elizabeth (called Sissy). Legend has yet another royal visitor passed through.Charlemagne. The Pass between the Val Rendena and Val di sole was named Pass Carlo Magno (the Charlemagne Pass). There is an ancient stain glass window that depicts Charlemagne surrounded by a variety of saints. Hence the one time revered sanctuary of

Campiglio in the late 1800s

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