Mount Gonare rises about 1100 meters between the territory of Orani and Sarule.
From the summit where the church stands it is possible, on clear days, to glimpse the sea to the east and west.
It stands out in the landscape with its three elevated rock formations in the shape of almost regular cones; the highest peak gives visitors an extraordinary panorama that sweeps from the Marina di Orosei to the Gulf of Oristano.
A steep path, in places carved into the living rock, leads up to the shrine dedicated to the Madonna, which stands on the summit.
Legend has it that it was Gonario II, judge of Torres, who built the shrine as a vote of thanks for having escaped a shipwreck while returning to Sardinia from the Holy Land.
In fact, the current configuration of the building suggests a later date than the Middle Ages, the 17th century, as documented by a pastoral visit made in 1608 by the bishop of Alghero, although elements can be observed that lead back to the mystical symbolism of the Cistercian friars, particularly the two rose windows, always present in Cistercian architecture, which gave extreme importance to light, understood as the only possibility of admiring creation.
It could, therefore, be assumed that an older sanctuary was later superimposed, in different phases, on the present church, which dates back to the 17th century, while the old bell bears the inscription “Ave Maria gratia plena – siendo obrero de Santa Maria de Gonare Matias Satta 1587.”
Around the church revolve festivals and events that periodically break the silence of Mount Gonare.
On September 8, the “Festa Grande” is celebrated, run alternately each year by Orani and Sarule.
The event is preceded by a novena in which a large number of the faithful participate.
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