The starting point for the most exciting procession in Civitavecchia
The church of the Virgin of Graces, better known as the Church of the Star, is located in Piazza Leandra and is, together with the Church of Oration and Death, among the oldest and most particular in Civitavecchia. It is located in Piazza Leandra, in a secluded position with respect to the central part, but still in the historic center of Civitavecchia.
The church is the seat of the Archconfratenity of the Gonfalone, founded by San Bonaventura in 1274. Tradition has it that San Bonaventura, before embarking for Lyon, passed through Civitavecchia where he founded a brotherhood.
The brothers, eager to create their own church, requested in 1688 from the Ordinary of Civitavecchia Brancacci, the Church of the Star, which they enlarged and decorated at their own expense. Among the various important works of art that you can admire inside the church, there is a precious wooden statue of the Virgin Mary. In the tabenacle above the altar, the statue of the Madonna delle Grazie is kept, which for some years, every 8th September, has been the protagonist of a solemn procession through the streets of the centre and the docks of the historic port.
Inside you can admire the valuable wooden crucifix of the Dead Christ. Every year on Good Friday in the streets of Civitavecchia you can witness the suggestive Procession of the Dead Christ, a procession with very ancient origins, during which this sculpture is transported on a decorated and illuminated cart by the Brothers of the Gonfalone dressed in white robes and with their faces covered.
