This 16th-Century Church in Italy is Built into the Side of a Cliff
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About 20 miles from Verona, and 10 miles from Lake Garda, you will discover the Santuario Madonna della Corona clinging to its precarious perch on Monte Baldo.
Medieval documents tell us that around the 11th century, hermit monks from nearby Abbey di St Zeno in Verona lived on the mountain. In the 13th century, a monastery and chapel were dedicated to St Mary of Montebaldo. The Sanctuary of the Madonna of Corona dates from 1522, although some put the date 200 years earlier. Many trek up to the Sanctuary beginning at the small village of Brentino in the valley below, starting off on the Via Santuario, a long path and stairway carved out of the mountain.
The trek rises 1800 feet with over 1500 steps. There are those that still climb this as a pilgrimage but make no mistake, this is a rugged mountain path suited for the very fit.
If you decide to visit and make the climb up to the Sanctuary, it will take you 2 hours up and another hour and a half coming back down.
For the less able, the Sanctuary is also accessible by a paved road from the village of Spiazzi on top of the mountain. The road is accessible by foot and enters the site through a tunnel dug into the rock in 1922.