Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie

The Franciscan church and convent date back to 1463, when the Observant Friars Minor settled in this peripheral area next to the river Lambro, outside the walls surrounding Monza. The brickwork church was built following the Lombard Late-Gothic style; in the 17th century  a Baroque portico was added to the façade and a stone bridge was built nearby to facilitate the pilgrims visiting the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary, still preserved inside the church.

After a devastating fire occurred at the time of the Napoleon era suppressions, the complex was restored in the 1930s and returned to the Franciscans.

 

THE CONVENT

Adjacent to the Gothic church, in the 15th century a Franciscan convent was also built, originally made up of four large cloisters overlooking the river Lambro. The complex was profoundly changed in the 18th century, inserting Baroque elements such as the portal that led to the convent; subsequent interventions have led to the current situation, consisting of an enclosed four-sided cloister and a portico.
Next to the river still remain the facilities and the court used in the past by the friars for the processing of wool.