Sanctuary of San Romedio

The Sanctuary of San Romedio (Italian: Santuario di San Romedio) is a sanctuary dedicated to Saint Romedius ("San Romedio") situated on a steep rocky spur in the natural scenery of the Val di Non, on the borders of the comuni of Sanzeno and Coredo, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy.

The sanctuary consists of five churches or chapels built over a period of some 900 years between 1000 and 1918. The five are built close to a steep rock wall and are connected by a spectacular flight of 130 steps. The site is visited by around 200,000 pilgrims every year, and is attended as custodians by two Franciscan friars.

Romedius lived in the 4th and 5th centuries, the heir of a rich Bavarian family, son of the Count of Thaur, the lord of a castle near Innsbruck and owner of salt pans in the valley of the River Inn. After a pilgrimage to Rome, he gave all his possessions to the Church, withdrawing into a hermitage in the Val di Non in some grottoes which still exist near the sanctuary. Two companions followed him, Abraham and David. The legend is that one day Romedius, wishing to go to Trento to greet Vigilius, then bishop of that city, asked David to saddle the horse. The disciple returned with the news that the horse had been savaged by a bear, whereupon Romedio ordered him to saddle the bear, which not only allowed this to be done but also let Romedio ride it all the way to Trento. It later lived with him at the hermitage. This episode is commemorated by a wooden statue placed next to a triumphal arch at the entrance to the sanctuary.

The rock which bore the old sanctuary remained bare for another 500 years or so, with an open flight of steps and a few small huts long since gone. At its base were the stables, the shelters for the pilgrims and the lodging of the custodians.

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