Case San Romolo (San Romolo Houses) is still a small conglomerate lost in the woods near Villamagna, but in the nineteenth century it was a place far away from the world inhabited by poor farmers and shepherds.
Among the latter was the Galli family who, to look after the sheep, hired Maria Teresa Lippi on 23 May 1800, a 13-year-old little orphan. In fact, this work was done by children who spent whole days alone with sheep and lambs, dreaming and daydreaming in front of the shows and the forms that nature offered.
On 17 July 1800, the shepherdess had lost some sheep, when “at a small broom she saw the figure of a woman, all dressed in white, with a white veil on her head.” Frightened, she turned around and saw that she had found all her sheep that followed her up to the house where she told about what had happened. A few days later she returned to the place with other shepherdesses and the lady appeared again, but Maria Teresa was the only one to see the woman who revealed herself like a soul in purgatory.
From the details given they realized that it was Marianna, the wife of Michele Galli who had died a few days before.
The news spread quickly and the people of Villamagna, led by many priests, went to the place to listen to the shepherdess who spoke with the lady … but that only she could see! She appeared to her more times in the same place until August 19, the heralded day of the last apparition as the soul would rise to heaven, when Marianna showed Teresa “another great lady, dressed all in white, like her and said to her: it is the Virgin Mary who has come to the rescue of you sinners.”
The doctor, present for the amazing event, observed the sudden healing of the shepherdess’ convulsions that had afflicted her since the beginning of her visions. The priest Paoletti, after subjecting Teresa to some tests, became convinced that she did indeed see the apparitions and informed the archbishop with a long letter which was then printed for the faithful.
The “Ladies in White” left three messages: pray to God at any time, do good deeds and wear a cross in the place of the apparitions.
In 1850, the simple wooden cross was replaced with a tabernacle that was restored and painted by the painter Roberto Smorti on August 15, 2000 with the image of that event that, since August 1800, has not been seen by anyone else.
