Serralunga di Crea

The whitened formerly brown Lady of Crea

Our Lady of Crea (Nostra Signora di Crea)

In her sanctuary Santa Maria Assunta, Piazzale Santuario, 15020 Serralunga di crea AL, 70 cm, possibly 4th century A.D. or older.

According to Ean Begg and others, this is a Black Madonna. She was recently whitened, but she was never real dark, only “olive-brown” in Ean Begg’s description. Old holy cards show her as darker than now, but certainly not black.

However, tradition has it that around 350 A.D., St. Eusebius, bishop of Vercelli, brought this Madonna and the Black Madonnas of Oropa and Cagliari, Sardinia from the Holy Land to Italy and built the first shrine to Mary, Mother of Jesus, in Serralunga di Crea in order to replace a pre-Christian holy place to the divine Mother. Heaven only knows why the Lady of Crea remained lighter than her 2 sisters.

For more information on her sanctuary see Sacro Monte di Crea.