Santuario della Madonna dei Fiori, Bra historical timeline

29 December 1336. At Bra, the Madonna is said to have appeared to Egidia Mathis, a young pregnant woman. Threatened with violence by mercenaries of a compagnia di ventura as she prayed at a votive pillar bearing the effigy of Mary, she is said to have been saved by the sudden apparition of the Virgin, who put the malefactors to flight. She gave birth immediately afterwards, apparently assisted by the Madonna herself, and around her — in full winter — the wild plum bushes are said to have flowered.

Ever since. The record reports, without conditional, that these bushes still flower inexplicably every year in the depth of winter rather than in spring, and that science has not found an explanation.

Before 1626. A chapel already commemorated the miracle on the site.

1626. The Santuario Antico was erected in Baroque style, in the place of that chapel.

1933. The Santuario Nuovo was begun, to a design by the engineer Bartolomeo Gallo. It was opened to celebrations and remains unfinished.

Since then. The complex has grown around the two churches: the Pruneto garden, the canonical house, the oratory structures, the crypt beneath the new sanctuary, and the "Beato Valfrè" rest home for elderly priests.

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