MADONNA DELL'ALTOMARE CHURCH

Located at the bottom of the convent complex of the Carmine, in an area which was originally placed outside the walls of Andria, the sanctuary of the Madonna of the Altomare rises on top of a rocky church, which had already been forgotten when, in 1598, a miraculous event led to its rediscovery. A young girl, who had fallen into a cistern dug in the tufa, was found unharmed after three days and said she had been rescued by the Virgin Mary, whose image was depicted at the top on the cistern's wall. The miracle made a great impression on the faithful and the image became soon known as “Madonna dell' Altomare” (Virgin Mary of the high water), since it was found almost close to the water that filled up the cistern. The place became a destination of pilgrimage and it got more and more imposing that the construction of a church became necessary in order to host the large number of faithful. Today the 19th -century style church is the result of works carried out by architect Federico Santacroce. The fresco of the Madonna of the Altomare (which originally portrayed Santa Sofia) has been removed from its original position and replaced on an altar.
The rocky church was originally a small worship place located within a system of settlements scattered along the slopes of a lama and then cancelled by urbanization, just like the small church of S. Vito and Marco. Thanks to restoration works undertaken in the 1980s some evidence of the rocky church has been uncovered, a circular basin and a fresco showing a saint bishop, along with the base of three pillars and the remains of an opus signinum pavement.