Our Lady of the Vine

https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/our-lady-of-the-vine.html

March 10: Our Lady of the Vine, Tuscany, Italy

The Abbot Orsini wrote: “Our Lady of the Vine, Tuscany, Italy.
A fine church, located near Viterbo, occupied at present by Dominicans.”

The city of Viterbo is located at foot of Mount Cimino in province of Rome. 
Viterbo itself currently has 34 separate parishes, with 8 religious houses for men & 18 houses for sisters.
I can find no reference to Our Lady of the Vine, or Madonna della Vito, anywhere in entire region of Tuscany.

I found 2 references to Dominican convents. 
The first was Our Lady of the Oak, or Madonna della Quercia, which also has a Dominican convent attached.  
The 2nd was Santa Maria dei Gradi, of which only church still remains. 
It was one of earliest Dominican convents, although it is now used mainly as a retreat house.

The Heavenly Mother, like all mothers, doesn't discriminate between children, for her help is for everyone.
We now continue with Our Lady of the Oak, which is almost surely place referred to be good abbot as Our Lady of the Vine.

At one time in Viterbo there was a certain man named Mastro Baptist Magnano Iuzzante, who was a very God-fearing devotee of glorious Virgin Mary.
He hired a painter named Monetto in year 1417 to paint an image on a tile of most glorious Virgin Mary holding her Son in her arms.

Mastro Baptist then lovingly laid tile on an oak tree that stood at edge of his vineyard, near road leading to Bagnaia & along which robbers often awaited to attack unwary travelers.

The image remained there for about 50 years under cover of oak’s branches, & after a while only a few women who passed by ever stopped to say a prayer & to admire beauty of a natural tabernacle that a wild vine, which had embraced the oak, had created.

During this period a hermit of Siena, Pier Domenico Alberti, whose hermitage was at foot of Palanzana, went around countryside & nearby towns of Viterbo, saying, "Among Bagnaia & Viterbo there is a treasure."

Many people, driven by greed, started digging there but found nothing & asked for an explanation from  hermit.
Domenico then brought them under oak tree chosen by Virgin & pointed to real treasure, the Madonna.
He told them of day he'd decided to take away sacred image to his hermitage, & of how it had returned to oak.

Dominico wasn't alone in this experience.
A devout woman named Bartolomea often walked past oak tree & stopped each time to pray to Blessed Virgin. One day she also decided to take tile to her home.
After saying her evening prayers, Bartolomea went to bed, but woke up in morning to find image missing.

She at first thought that her family had taken it to place it somewhere else, but upon learning that this was not so, she ran to oak tree & saw what he'd already guessed: tile had miraculously returned to its place amid tendrils of the vine.

Bartolomea tried again, but always sacred image returned to tree.
At first she didn't say anything to anyone to avoid being taken for being mad.

Then, in 1467, during month of August, whole region was struck by greatest scourge of those times: plague. Everywhere there were bodies of dead lying in deserted streets, & there was everywhere great weeping & mourning.

Some then remembered image painted on humble tile, &, as if driven by an inexplicable force, went to kneel beneath oak.
Nicholas of Tuccia, a historian, said that on one day 30,000 people were there to beg for mercy.

A few days later plague ceased, & then 40,000 of faithful came back to thank Virgin Mary.
The people of Viterbo were headed by their bishop Pietro Gennari, & there were many from other regions.

In early September of same year another extraordinary event happened.

A good knight of Viterbo had many enemies, as will often happen to a follower of Christ.
One day he was surprised by his enemies outside walls of Viterbo.
Alone & unarmed, & having no way to deal with mortal danger, he fled into nearby woods.

Fatigued & desperate to reach his destination, knight heard cries of enemy draw nearer & nearer. Eventually he arrived at oak with sacred image of Mary, where he fell at her feet with great faith & embraced trunk of tree, putting his life into the hands of his Heavenly Mother.

The knight’s enemies reached oak, but were surprised that they could no longer see knight.
They began to look behind every tree & bush, but not one could see him since he'd disappeared before their very eyes.
Failing to find him after a long time spent in searching, they gave up in disgust.

Then the knight, after thanking Virgin Mary, returned to Viterbo & told everyone what had happened. Bartolomea heard his tale, & encouraged by his words, she described miracles to which she'd been a witness.

They told everyone what had happened to them with so much enthusiasm, faith that devotion that stories spread like wildfire, & many people, coming from most diverse regions of Italy, flocked to feet of oak to implore help from Blessed Virgin.

It was decided to build an altar, & then a chapel of planks before Pope Paul II gave necessary permission to build a small church in 1467.
Many popes & saints have been devotees of image, including St Charles Borromeo, St Paul of the Cross, St Ignatius Loyola, Saint Crispin of Viterbo, & St Maximilian Kolbe, among many others.

On January 20th, 1944, during bombing of Viterbo, a squadron of 12 bombers headed for oak, but upon arriving at their destination, inexplicably veered to right & bombs dropped didn't destroying anything outside of asylum which was empty.
The remains of bombs, 3 large chunks, are kept behind altar of Madonna.

In 1986, Pope John Paul II proclaimed Our Lady of the Oak Patroness of new diocese of Viterbo, formed from union of those of Viterbo, Tuscania, Montefiascone, Acquapendente & Bagnoregio.

Even today Virgin protects her devotees, & devotion to Blessed Virgin of the Oak is very strong.

Every year on second Sunday of September, faithful commemorate "Benefits from the Sacred Image of Our Lady of the Oak." Many cities & towns, with their brotherhoods, participate in procession of thanksgiving, called "Covenant of Love "
The mayor of Viterbo, on behalf of all participants, renews consecration made of old by whole region back in 1467.