Tempietto Valadier

The Sanctuary of Santa Maria infra Saxa and the Tempietto Valadier are two sanctuaries and chapel located at the entrance of the Frasassi Caves, a remarkable karst cave system in the municipality of Genga, in the province of Ancona, Marche, Italy. Tempio del Valadier and visible in rear of photo is the hermitage of Santa Maria Infra Saxa The sanctuary and chapel are located within a few dozen meters of each other, on a ledge entrance to the Frasassi cave system. The sanctuary is ancient; it is cited in documents from 1029. It is a simple stone structure built by Benedictine monks to house a burned image of the Madonna. The Tempietto or small octagonal temple was commissioned in 1828 by Pope Leo XII, who was originally from Genga. The white marble structure was designed by Giuseppe Valadier. The chapel once housed a marble statue of the Madonna and child by the studio of Antonio Canova. The statue is now in the civic museum of Genga, and been substituted by a copy. When the Tempietto was built, a number of remains of skeletons were found in the opening of the cave.