Santuario di Santa Maria di Panisacco

The Sanctuary of S. Maria di Panisacco is located above the village of Maglio di Sopra at 469m a.s.l., in a position that allows it to dominate the entire Agno Valley.
Perhaps precisely because of its location, as well as its architectural harmony and obviously its religious significance, it has become a heritage for all the inhabitants of the valley, who have made it a destination for continuous pilgrimages. To access it, one must climb a staircase of 235 steps, at the top of which opens a green area shaded by some cypress trees, which concludes with the wide portico leading to the Sanctuary. A portico with a gabled roof, supported by a double series of three full-arch arcades. The site transformed into a place of meditation also thanks to the presence of a monastery, probably integrated with the houses that today form the small rural settlement still known as "Frati di Santa Maria", from which the only access path to the Church departed.
In 1445, the monastic complex passed to the Lateran Canonics, who initiated a long phase of enrichment of the religious buildings. In the early years of the eighteenth century, it reached its peak with the construction of capitals for the Stations of the Cross, which have since been lost. Since 1942, the Sanctuary has become an integral part of the newly formed Parish of Maglio di Sopra, which has periodically carried out maintenance and restoration work, even in very recent times.
In the Sanctuary of Panisacco, since 1212, the Immaculate Virgin has been supplicated, represented in a painting above the altar "Maria as a child in the arms of St. Anne".
It is the oldest and most venerated sanctuary in the Agno-Chiampo valley.