Path of Our Lady of Snow

The trail in question represents the ancient mule track that was the main access to the Alpe di Mera, now intersected by the cart road. Even today, it is used every year, at the end of winter, for the procession that renews the ancient vow dating back to 1585. There are not many documents in the archives, but the date is still visible on a fresco in the Oratory of the Madonna della Neve at the Alpe di Mera. In that year (1585), the inhabitants of Scopello and Pila vowed to the Madonna to walk from the Parish Church of Scopello to the Oratory dedicated to the Madonna della Neve, at the Alpe in procession, because the Blessed Virgin Mary had protected the flocks and the inhabitants from the invasion of wolves. Thus, since then, every year, at least one member from each family unit reaches the Oratory. Even today this celebration is very heartfelt: it represents a reason for gratitude for the winter season that has concluded and is a good omen for the upcoming summer season; many are the participants. Along the route, there are some votive pillars, two quite ancient, one dating back to the first half of the 20th century, places of rest as a testimony of the faith and art of those who regularly passed through that way. The image of the Madonna di Mera preserved in the ancient oratory is an 18th-century copy of the Madonna di Oropa, thus including the Sanctuary within the circuit of pilgrimages of the "Black Madonnas" present in the Alpine territory.