Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Gate, Guastalla

The Sanctuary takes its name from the presence of the ancient gate of St. Francis (Porta di San Francesco) near the site.

An icon of the Madonna painted in 1646 by Damiano Padovani,[1] had begun to be attached to miracles, and this led the Duke of Mantua, Vincenzo Gonzaga to commission a design from Prospero Mattioli in 1693, when construction began.

In 1702, when Guastalla was under the siege of the French and Spanish armies, the city promised to the Blessed Virgin Mary to build up two altars: one to the Crucifix and another to the saint recurring in the day of the liberation.

The large collection of votive offerings displayed in the museum adjacent to the church testifies to the miracles performed.

The altar of San Francesco da Paola, erected in 1741 (right arm of the transept) is the work of Pietro Franzini.