This is the spiritual heart of Torino. On this site, not far from the Porte Palatine (Palatine Gates), in the heart of the Quadrilatero Romano (Roman Quarter), there was in the V century the Chiesa di Sant’Andrea (St Andrew’s church), which kept an icon of the Virgin Mary brought from the East. This image went missing, and was then found by a blind man on the 20th June 1104, who, thanks to his find, got his sight back. Since then, the event has been celebrated every year with a Procession. The church, which later became the mother house of the Missions of the Consoled, is a Torino baroque masterpiece, with important interventions by Filippo Juvarra and Guarino Guarini. The Sanctuary also houses a collection of over 2000 hand-painted votive offerings, which are tangible evidence of the gratitude of the devotees of the Madonna of the Consoled for favours received.
