For centuries, the eastern-most peaks of the Alps were the natural border between the Latin, Germanic, and Slavic worlds. Today, in a time of peace, they still speak the languages of these peoples and are a land of meeting and friendship. At the extreme north-east of Italy, Mount Lussari is the symbol of this, with its sanctuary that can easily call itself European, being a destination for pilgrimages of all three peoples.
According to an ancient tradition, the sanctuary has its origins in 1360, following a series of miraculous events. A shepherd found his sheep flock kneeling around a bush and, with great wonder, realised that there was a little statue of the Madonna and Child in the centre of the bush. The shepherd delivered the statue to the Camporosso parish church, but the following morning the statue was again found on Lussari, again surrounded by the kneeling sheep. The episode was repeated a third time. Informed of the event, the Patriarch of Aquileia ordered that a chapel be built on the site.
There are no longer traces of the original chapel: the current building is the result of reconstructions and extensions of a 16th-century building.
