Located on Monte Isola, the largest lake island in the center of Lake Iseo.
It is located at the highest point of the lake, and from there you can admire a wide panorama of the lake and surrounding mountains.
The Sanctuary of the Madonna della Ceriola was the first building of worship to the Madonna to be built in the Lake Iseo area; in fact, its origins date back to the mid-5th century.
The name “Madonna della Ceriola,” probably derives from the turkey oak, the wood essence used to build the 12th-century wooden statue representing the enthroned Virgin holding the Child, venerated inside the shrine.
Inside the shrine numerous frescoes and paintings and ex-votos, the gifts of the faithful that commemorate the graces attributed to Our Lady.
Every second Sunday in July there is the feast of “Our Lady of Cholera,” in thanksgiving for the protection granted to the island’s inhabitants against a cholera epidemic in 1836.
Today the shrine is the symbol of the civic unity of all the citizens of the single municipality of Monte Isola, which bears in its coat of arms precisely the figure of the Shrine of Our Lady of Ceriola.
How to get there is simple.
The shrine is served by a cobblestone mule track that connects it to the Cure locality, and on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays there is a bus service that leaves near the Peschiera Maraglio pier and stops at the Cure locality.
Also from Peschiera Maraglio is the path leading to the shrine, and along the way there are 15 chapels celebrating the mysteries of the rosary, built in the second half of the 20th century.
During church services, visits are suspended.