427 churches in Rome and close to 2,000 years of Christianity means no end to the number of miraculous events that have taken place in the eternal city throughout its history.
A bit of exploration reveals that Rome has its very own Lady of Lourdes equivalent in Santa Maria in Via, the small church located in the square (of sorts) at the corner of Via del Corso and Via del Tritone.
On the night of September 26th, 1256, a servant of Cardinal Capocci, possibly intentionally, dropped a terracotta tile painted with an image of the Madonna into a well in a horse stall. Except before the heavy tile touched the bottom of the well, the water suddenly rose and then overflowed with such intensity that it began to flood the stall and spook the horses.
The servant ran and woke up the Cardinal, who immediately went to investigate and found the tile floating on top of the still flowing water. Upon retrieving the tile the water receded back down the well to its previous level.
Given the miracle, the Cardinal obviously had a church built on the spot, subsequently rebuilt under Innocenzo VIII in the late 15th century.
The first chapel on the right holds the image of the Madonna of the tile, and on the right a tray of paper cups has kindly been provided. You’ll notice a faucet too; this taps the water of the miraculous well. If you’re ever in the area when the church is open (hours here), you’re welcome to tuck inside for a drink.
