Sanctuary in Primolo

Built in the second 1688, the Sanctary of the Our Lady of Graces in Primolo is still a pilgrimage destination.

The inhabitants of Primolo aimed at building a Church to suit their own spiritual needs withouth having to reach Chiesa to attend Mass. Despite the idea the inhabitants of Primolo had in mind was that of a modest building, the priest Giovanni Chiesa wanted to build a Sanctuary located in a prominent spot, clearly visible from the whole valley and destined to become a pilgrimage destination. Following years of disagreement, the priest managed to convince his parishioners: the Virgin Mary appeared to him in a dream and ordered the priest to built a Sanctuary dedicated to her right where he had always wanted. 

Over the 18° Century the sanctuary became one of the most important of the province and it soon became customary to celebrate the feast of the Sanctuary on the first Sunday of August with a procession with the statue of the Virgin Mary through the streets of the town. 

The devotion to the Virgin of Primolo led to the emergence  of traditions in which sacred and profane features overlap. This is the case of the "glass scratching": women looking for an husband scratch the glass of the niche that preserves the statue of the Virgin.