The Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Monte is one of the oldest and most significant places of worship in Campobasso. Its first historical record dates back to August 20, 1241, as recorded in the Latin Vatican Codex 8222, which lists the main churches in the diocese of Boiano. At that time the church, mentioned as Ecclesia Sanctae Mariae, was involved in the requisitions ordered by Frederick II, losing a valuable purple silk cloth.
Over the centuries the church was transformed, becoming the funeral chapel of the Monforte family, then archpriest’s church with the title “Santa Maria Maggiore” and finally a shrine dedicated to Our Lady of the Mount, solemnly crowned in 1904 by Vatican decree.
The return of the Capuchins to Campobasso marked a new phase for the shrine. Despite initial difficulties, three friars, led by Padre Pio of Benevento, took possession of the church on May 25, 1905. The Capuchins immediately engaged in restoration and embellishment work, entrusting the decoration to the painter Abele Valerio. On May 30, 1911, the solemn inauguration was held, followed by the traditional procession at the end of May, a rite that is still repeated every year.
Two pontifical Rescripts of 1921 definitively sanctioned the management of the Shrine to the Capuchins, under the supervision of the Holy See. Subsequently, the small fraternity of the Mount was merged with the Convent of the Sacred Heart, which opened in the city in 1931, while maintaining its own religious identity.
From an artistic point of view, the shrine holds a precious statue of Our Lady of the Mount, dressed in 19th-century clothing, restored in 1824 but dating back to 1334, as engraved on the wooden pedestal. In 1945, Amedeo Trivisonno frescoed the walls of the church depicting the 15 Mysteries of the Rosary, with Mary’s Glory in the center, and the Canticle of the Creatures and the Assumption into Heaven on the sides.
The Shrine of Santa Maria del Monte continues to represent a place of deep spirituality and a precious testimony to the link between faith, history and art in the Campobasso community.