Drammatizzazione della Passione di Cristo 2010 ...
BASILICA AND SHRINE OUR LADY OF BONARIA - CAGLIARI
HISTORICAL INFORMATION The hill of Bonaria is sited on the south-eastern part of the town of Cagliari. In 1323 King Alfonso of Aragona placed his camp there in order to conquer the town and built a fortified castle and church. In 1325 the King donated the church to the friars of The Order of Our Lady of Mercy. They built a convent and still live there nowadays. The Order of Our Lady of Mercy was founded in Barcelona by St. Peter Nolasco to free the Christian slaves from the Moors. Many slaves were redeemed by the monks of Bonaria. In 1370 a sailing-ship from Spain was caught in the middle of a violent storm. The whole shipment, including a heavy case, was thrown into the sea. As soon as the case touched the water, the storm suddenly calmed down miraculously. The case was found at the port of Bonaria and opened by the friars: it contained a wonderful statue of the Madonna holding the infant Jesus in her left hand and a lit candle in her right one. Soon, devotion for the Madonna spread both in the island and in the world, particularly among sailors who invoked her to be their protector. The “conquistadores” gave the name Buenos Aires to the capital of Argentina as a sign of their devotion to the Madonna of Bonaria which, in fact, means “good air”. On September 13th 1907, St. Pious X proclaimed the Madonna of Bonaria as the Highest Patron of Sardinia. Pope Paul VI honored with his presence the celebration of her 6th centenary, the 24th of April 1970. Pope John Paul II came to Bonaria as a pilgrim on October 20th, 1985. On Sept, 7th 2008, Pope Benedict XVI came to honour Our Lady of Bonaria for the celebrations of the first Centenary of her proclamation as the highest Patron of Sardinia.
THE SIMULACRUM OF THE MADONNA OF BONARIA
The authentic and precious statue which arrived in 1370, is displayed in the apse of the high altar of the shrine.The statue “of an ineffable beauty” (Lippi), is carved out of a single piece of locust-tree wood, and is 1.56 meters high.
THE SHRINE It is the first exemple of Gothic-Catalan style ever built in Sardinia, and was erected by the Aragonese between 1324 and 1326. The apse is wedged in the Aragonese tower (now the bell-tower), the only remnant of the fortification ordered by King Alfonso of Aragona. In the middle of the apse is the Madonna’s throne. The simulacrum, placed on a marble pedestal, stands out distinctly against the golden mosaic. At the apse’s sides, two small doors are used as passge for devotes going to kiss the Madonna’s simulacrum. The ivory boat which hangs in the middle of the apse dates from the XV century. It signals winds from the Golfo degli Angeli (Gulf of Angels), in a very mysterious way. It is the most ancient ex-voto of the Shrine. Frescoes in the presbytery vault are by Gina Baldracchini. In the niche of the first chapel to the right, there is a small statue of the Madonna of the Miracle, more ancient than the simulacrum of the Madonna of Bonaria. This statue has been here since the construction of the church (1325). The Madonna of the Gold Finch, in the third chapel to the right, is a painting by Michele Cavaro (1517-1584).
THE SACRISTY It was built in 1666. The walls are covered with numerous canvases emphasizing the prodigious arrival of the Madonna and the Saints of Order of Mercy. They are works of Domenico Conti (about 1670). In the sacristy and in the passages several ex-votos are displayed: hearts of silver, pictures and models of ships.
THE CASE In the hall next to the sacristy is the case which contained the statue of the Madonna in 1370. The missing part of the case was distributes in fragments to the sailors who, in the event of a storm, used to throw the relics into the sea, so that the 1370 prodigy might be repeated.
THE EX VOTOS They hang from the sacristy corridor and in the other part of the museum. Unfortunately, many ex-votos were lost when ecclesiastical goods were confiscated by the State (1866).
THE CLOISTER AND MUSEUM In the ancient cloister a museum has been set up to collect all evidence of devotion for the Madonna during the centuries: from models of ships, slaves’chains, gifts of Kings, Princes and Popes, to sport champions’shirts. Mummies, first buried under the shrine presbytery, belong to the Alagon Marquees family from Villasor, who died of plague in 1604.
THE BASILICA The building of the temple started in 1704, resumed in 1910 and concluded in 1926. During the same year, Pope Pio XI conferred the title of Low Basilica to the temple. During the 1943 air-raids all frescoes, stuccoes and gold adorning the Basilica were completely destroyed. Reconstruction work started in 1947 and ended at Easter 1988 thanks, mostly, to financing by the Town Council of Cagliari. The altar is surmounted by a big canopy with four green marble columns; capitals, angels and arches are of golden copper. The war chapel with a low relief of the Pietà, is the work of Montaldi. The war memorial, under the organ, is Francesco Ciusa’s. The chapel painting of the Sacred Family is by the Neapolitan painter Giuseppe Aprea. Paintings in the chapels of the Madonna of Fatima, Assunta, Ausiliatrice, Santissimo, Immacolata; Rosario, are by the Sardinian painter Antonio Mura. The painting in the Chapel of the Madonna of Mercy is by the painter Gina Baldracchini.
THE SQUARE AND MAIN DOORS In front of the majestic dimensions of the greatest temple in Sardinia, the spectacular view of the square opens out, stretching to the sea with its monumental terraced steps and green gardens. Next to the flight of steps one can admire the remains of Roman and Phoenician tombs. A column commemorates the arrival of the statue of the Madonna of Bonaria. During the most recent restorations, the entrance to the Basilica has been embellished with artistic bronze doors by the sculptor Ernesto Lamagna, financed by the Banco di Sardegna.
For more detailed information about the shrine you may purchase various publications and souvenirs in the rooms of the cloister or by contacting:
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
THE SIMULACRUM OF THE MADONNA OF BONARIA
THE SACRISTY
THE CASE
THE CLOISTER AND MUSEUM
THE BASILICA
THE SQUARE AND MAIN DOORS
