An icon among the reeds
The Church stands at a bend in the old Via Settevene Palo, a road that leads from the Aurelia to the village of Cerveteri. It was built in 1600 where tradition has it that the image of the Madonna with Child was found in the reeds at the side of the road. The discovery was accompanied by a series of miracles of which, however, no written records have been handed down but numerous votive offerings kept inside the church. It became the seat of Augustinian monks, who buried those who died of malaria there.
The church has a small structure, which gives it a cozy atmosphere. It consists of a single nave, with a trussed roof. A baroque apse houses the venerated painting of the Madonna. In the nave there is a second room that houses the penitentiary, where a collection of ex voto is placed.
In 1636 the state of the church was described as being in poor condition, so a restoration was promoted between 1661 and 1682. During these works the bell tower was added, which houses a bell that was rung to call the faithful on the occasion of funerals. In 1671 and 1675, with the permission of Cardinal Francesco Maria Brancaccio, the hermitage was built to house the hermits. In 1753 for a short period it was called “Santa Maria de Arudinientis”, and then resumed its current name.
