Nostra Signora di Gonare

The Church of Nostra Signora di Gonare is a graceful religious building built on Monte Gonare, between the municipalities of Sarule and Orani, in central Sardinia. This suggestive place is territorially divided between the municipality of Orani as regards the church and the square while in that of Sarule for the parish of San Michele and part of the square. The Church is immersed in a wonderful natural setting and dominates, from a height of one thousand meters above sea level, this area in which it is said that the place was chosen by Our Lady to be visible to all. It was built by Gonario II, king of Torres, who, according to legend, had the chapel of Our Lady built to respect the promise made to the Virgin after being saved from a storm in the Gulf of Orosei while returning from the Holy Land. It is said that Gonario, heading towards the mountain, met a woman with a child who offered to accompany him and who, tired from the steep climb, stopped to rest. In the meantime, Gonario went away to explore the area and on his return he no longer found the woman so he thought it was the Madonna and deduced that this must be the most suitable place to build the church. Initially it was small in size, then towards 1908, it was enlarged and now occupies almost the entire top of the mountain and maintains a spartan austerity in appearance.This Marian sanctuary is considered the most beautiful and important in Sardinia and is a destination for faithful who in the walk to get to the mountain they repeat gestures handed down by their creed over the years. The path is dug into the rock and along the way there are references where the Madonna would have stopped: the cradle "su brazzolu" that is where she would have laid the child, the "s'imbaradorgiu" niche where she would have sat and a small depression where he would have imprinted the palm of his hand. All around the church there are the typical rural houses "sas cumbessias" to offer shelter to pilgrims.