IL SANTUARIO DI MONTESANTO. - Marian sanctuary, whose foundation dates back to an apparition in 1539. Entrusted in 1566 to the Franciscans of Bosnia, in 1786 it was suppressed by Joseph II, who also removed the miraculous image of the Madonna. In 1793, however, it was reopened, and in 1901 the Franciscans returned there; they still officiate there today. Since 1924 it has been entrusted to the province of Trento, which completely rebuilt it after the destruction it suffered during the war of 1915–18. The image of the Madonna was solemnly crowned in 1717, and in 1907 the sanctuary was raised to the status of a basilica.
BIBL.: T. Castellis, Il santuario di Monte Santo, Udine 1922; T. Asson, Stabilimento dei Francescani nel Trentino, in Contributi alla storia dei Frati Minori della provincia di Trento, Trento 1926, pp. 36-39. Alberto Ghinato