Description The Apparition of the Madonna of Santa Maria del Fonte to Giannetta in Caravaggio Oil on canvas cm 65.5x137.5 This painting depicts the Apparition of the Madonna of Santa Maria del Fonte to Giannetta, a subject linked to a miraculous event that took place in 1432 near Caravaggio, in Lombardy. According to tradition, the Virgin appeared to Giannetta de' Vacchi, a young peasant woman, at a miraculous spring, announcing peace and salvation for the people. The theme is closely linked to Lombard Marian worship. The Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Fonte in Caravaggio is one of the most important places of Marian devotion in northern Italy. The scene shows the Virgin Mary, standing, appearing to young Giannetta, kneeling in prayer and in peasant clothes. The Madonna is wrapped in a blue cloak and wears light clothes, while the sanctuary? can be seen in the background, surrounded by a serene and spiritual landscape. The painting is accompanied by a letter from the Monsignor Rector of the Sanctuary Basilica "Nostra Signora del Fonte" dated 1989. The Rector recognizes in the painting "the image of the apparition of the Madonna on this land in Caravaggio. The artistic expression of the scene is among the richest and most vivid in the centuries-old history of this Sanctuary." Dimensions cm 65.5x137.5 Provenance Private collection Conditions Defects and restorations.