The Sanctuary of Our Lady, situated at an altitude of 1,904 metres, is surrounded by mountains and overlooked by Mount Gélas, which rises to 3,143 metres within the Mercantour Alpine massif and is the highest peak in the Alpes-Maritimes. Fenestre takes its name from a gap in the Cayre de la Madone, the rock formation behind the sanctuary, where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared one day.
The interior is in the Baroque style. Following several fires, the sanctuary was restored in the 19th century. The High Altar is dedicated to Our Lady of Fenestre, whose polychrome statue, carved from Lebanese cedar, is thought to date from the 14th century and is attributed to Saint Luke. It is said to have been brought back from the Crusades by the Knights Templar and placed at its current location.
Legend has it that, following the Virgin’s apparition in the ‘Trouée du Cayre de la Madone de Fenestre’, the Knights Templar and the Benedictines built the first chapel in her honour.
The numerous miracles attributed to her explain the devotion shown to her by the local people during two annual processions.
Listed as one of the major sites in the Mercantour, the Madone is the starting point for numerous walks to high-altitude lakes, as far as Italy – a one-hour walk – or, further afield, towards the Vallée des Merveilles. An ancient route leads, via the lake and then the Col de Fenestre, to the Italian side of Piedmont.
A series of themed guides dedicated to hiking in the Alpes-Maritimes has been published by the Department since 1993.
Madone de Fenestre
06450 Saint-Martin-Vésubie
http://www.saintmartinvesubie.fr/index.php/decouvrir/patrimoine-naturel/la-madone-de-fenestre
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
